I-NRLF 


B   M   Eb7   Mfl? 


Division. 
Range 

Shelf. 

Received 


187 


REJPORTS 


\ 
UPON 


THE  MINERAL  RESOURCES 


OF 


THE   UNITED  STATES, 


BY 


SPECIAL  COMMISSIONERS  J,  HOSSUJROWNE  AND  JAMES 
W.  TAYLOR, 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE, 

1  867. 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  January  29,  1867. 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury  Department  one  thousand  copies  of  the  Report 
of  J.  Ross  Browne  upon  the  Mineral  Resources  of  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  February  12,  1867. 

Resolved,  That  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  Report  of  J.  Rosa  Browne  on  the  Mineral  Resources.  <fec.,  in 
addition  to  those  already  ordered,  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  this  House ;  and  that  a  copy  of  the 
rules  prepared  at  the  General  Land  Office  to  aid  in  the  disposal  of  the  mineral  lands,  under  law,  approved 
February  26,  1866,  for  that  purpose,  be  added  to  each  copy  of  such  report ;  and  that  one  thousand  copies  of  the 
*ame  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  February  25, 1867. 

Resolved,  That  the  same  number  of  copies  of  the  "Letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  February 
13,  1867,  with  the  Report  of  the  Special  Commissioner  for  the  Collection  of  Mining  Statistics  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,"  be  ordered  to  be  printed  as  were  of  the  "Report  of  J.  Ross  Browne  on  the  Mineral  Resources," 
&.C.;  and  that  the  same  be  bound  together  for  the  use  of  the  House. 

Attest:  EDW'D  McPHERSON,   Clerk. 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  February  6,  1867. 

Resolved,  That  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  Report  of  J.  Ross  Browne  to  the  Treasury  Department  on  tha 
Statistics  of  Mines  and  Mining  be  printed  and  bound  for  the  use  ofthe  Senate,  with  a  title-page  and  index. 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  February  27, 1867. 

Resolved,  That  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  letter  of  trie  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  February  thirteenth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  transmitting1  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  Report  by  James  W.  Taylor 
upon  Gold  and  Silver  Mines  and  Mining  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate, 
and  that  one  thousand  of  said  extra  copies  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Attest:  J.  W.  FORNEY,  Secretary. 


LETTER 


FROM 


THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY, 


TRANSMITTING 


A  report  upon  the  mineral  resources  of  the  States  and    Territories  west  of  the 

Rocky  Mountains. 


JANUARY  8,  1867. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  and  ordered  to  be 

printed.  * 


TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  January  8,  1867. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  a  preliminary  report  upon  the  mineral  re- 
sources of  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  by  Mr.  J. 
Ross  Browne,  who  was  appointed  special  commissioner  under  a  provision  of  the 
appropriation  act  of  July  28,  1866,  authorizing  the  collection  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  of  "  reliable  statistical  information  concerning  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver mines  of  the  western  States  and  Territories." 

An  introductory  communication  from  Mr.  Browne  is  also  enclosed,  which  will 
indicate  the  scope  of  the  report,  with  some  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  future 
prosecution  of  the  inquiry  into  the  situation  and  prospects  of  gold  and  silver 
mining  in  the  United  States. 

The  commissioner  has  evidently  availed  himself  of  the  best  experience  of  the 
State  of  California,  especially  in  the  department  of  geological  and  mineralogical 
observation ;  and  the  present  compilation  of  its  results  cannot  fail  to  be  a  wel- 
come contribution  to  the  public  information. 

If  Congress  shall  make  the  necessary  appropriation  for  this  object,  it  is  the 
purpose  of  the  Secretary  to  secure  a  similar  body  of  scientific  and  statistical  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  mining  districts  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Mon- 
tana. A  report  upon  the  production  of  gold  and  silver  in  those  Territories,  and 
in  the  Vermillion  and  Alleghany  districts  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr.  James 
W.  Taylor,  will  be  forwarded  from  this  department  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  an  early  day. 

I  am,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  McCULLOCH, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hon.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 


LETTER  OF  INSTRUCTIONS. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  August  2,  1866. 

SIR  :  In  entering  upon  your  duties  as  special  commissioner  to  collect  mining 
statistics  in  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  is  im- 
portant that  you  should  clearly  understand  the  objects  designed  to  be  accom- 
plished by  this  department  and  by  Congress. 

The  absence  of  reliable  statistics  in  any  department  of  the  government  on  the 
subject  of  mines  and  mining  in  our  new  mineral  regions,  and  the  inconvenience 
resulting  from  it,  induced  Congress  at  its  last  session  to  appropriate  the  sum  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  collection  of  information  of  all  kinds  tending  to 
show  the  extent  and  character  of  our  mineral  resources  in  the  far  west. 

The  special  points  of  inquiry  to  which  your  attention  will  necessarily  be 
directed  are  so  varied,  and  embrace  so  large  a  scope  of  country,  that  it  will 
scarcely  be  practicable  for  you  to  report  upon  them  in  full  by  the  next  session 
of  Congress. 

I  entertain  the  hope,  however,  that  you  will  be  enabled  by  that  time  to 
collect  sufficient  data  to  furnish,  in  the  form  of  a  preliminary  report,  the  basis  of 
a  plan  of  operations  by  which  we  can  in  future  procure  information  of  a  more 
detailed  and  comprehensive  character. 

The  success  of  your  visit  to  the  mineral  regions,  in  carrying  out  the  objects 
contemplated,  must  depend  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  judicious  exercise  of 
your  own  judgment,  and  upon  your  long  practical  acquaintance  with  the  coun- 
try, your  thorough  experience  of  mining  operations,  and  your  knowledge  of  the 
best  and  most^conomical  means  of  procuring  reliable  information. 
•  The  department  will  not,  therefore,  undertake  to  give  you  detailed  instruc- 
tions upon  every  point  that  may  arise  in  the  course  of  your  investigations.  It 
desires  ta  impress  upon  you  in  general  terms  a  few  important  considerations  for 
your  guidance,  leaving  the  rest  to  your  own  judgment  and  sense  of  duty. 

1.  All  statistics  should  be  obtained  from  such  sources  as  can  be  relied  upon. 
Their  value  will  depend  upon  their  accuracy  and  authenticity.     All  statements 
not  based  upon  actual  data  should  be  free  from  prejudice  or  exaggeration. 

2.  In  your  preliminary  report,  a  brief  historical  review  of  the  origin  of  gold 
and  silver  mining  on  the  Pacific  coast  would  be  interesting  in  connection  with  a 
statement  of  the  present  condition  of  the  country,  as  tending  to  show  the  pro- 
gress of  settlement  and  civilization. 

3.  The  geological  formation  of  the  great  mineral  belts  and  the  general  char- 
acteristics of  the  placer  diggings  and  quartz  ledges  should  be  given  in  a  |pncise 
form. 

4.  The  different  systems  of  mining  in  operation  since   1848,  showing  the 
machinery  used,  the  various  processes  of  reducing  the  ores,  the  percentage  of 
waste,  and  the  net  profits.  * 

5.  The  population  engaged  in  mining,  exclusively  and  in  part;  the  capital 
and  labor  employed ;    the  value  of  improvements ;    the  number  of  mills  and 
steam-engines  in  operation ;   the  yield  of  the  mines  worked ;    the  average  ~of 
dividends  and  average  of  losses,  in  all  the  operations  of  mining. 

6.  The  proportion  of  agricultural  and  mineral  lands  in  each  district ;  the 
quantity  of  wood  land ;  facilities  for  obtaining  fuel ;  number  and  extent  of  streamy 
and  water  privileges. 

7.  Salt  beds,  deposits  of    soda  and  borax,  and  all  other  valuable  mineral 
deposits. 

8.  The  altitude,  character  of  the  climate,  mode  and  cost  of  living ;  cost  of 
all  kinds  of  material ;   cost  of  labor,  &c. 

9.  The  population  of  the  various  mining  towns ;  the  number  of  banks  and 
banking  institutions  in  them;,  the  modes   of  assaying,  melting,  and  refining 

the  charges  upon  the  same  for  transportation  and  insurance 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  5 

10.  Facilities  in  the  way  of  communication;    postal  and  telegraphic  lines; 
stage  routes  in  operation  ;  cost  of  travel ;  probable  benefits  likely  to  result  from 
the  construction  of  the  Pacific  railroad  and  its  proposed  branches. 

11.  The  necessity  for  assay  offices  and  public  depositories;  what  financial 
facilities  may  tend  to  develop  the  country  and  enhance  its  products. 

12.  Copies  of  all  local  mining  laws  and  customs  now  regulating  the  holding 
and  working  of  claims. 

13.  The  number  of  ledges  opened  and  the  number  claimed;  the  character  of 
the  soil  and  its  adaptation  to  the  support  of  a  large  population. 

Upon  all  these  points  it  is  very  desirable  that  we  should  possess  reliable 
information.  Whatever  tends  to  develop  the  vast  resources  of  our  new  States 
and  Territories  must  add  to  the  wealth*of  the  whole  country. 

I  am  extremely  solicitous  that  the  information  collected  should  be  ample  and 
authentic. 

Trusting  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  make  such  a  report  as  will  be  of  great 
public  utility,  and  at  the  same  time  promote  the  interests  of  the  miners  to  whose 
industry  and  energy. so  much  is  due, 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  McCULLOCH, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
J.  Ross  BBOWNE,  Esq  , 

Washington,  D.  G. 


LETTEE 

FROM 

J.  ROSS  BROWNE, 

SPECIAL  COMMISSIONER  FOR  THE  COLLECTION  OF  MINING  STATISTICS, 

/ 

TO  THE 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA, 

Not-ember  24,  1866. 

SIR  :  I  had  the  honor  to  send  you  by  last  steamer  a  preliminary  report  on  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Congress,  at  its  last  session,  appropriated  ten  thousand  dollars  "  to  enable  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  collect  reliable  statistical  information  concerning 
the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  western  States  and  Territories,"  &c.  Under  a 
letter  of  appointment,  dated  August  2,  1866,  and  in  accordance  with  detailed 
instructions  of  same  date,  I  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  assigned 
to  me,  immediately  upon  my  arrival  at  San  Francisco,  September  3,  ultimo. 

The  views  of  the  department  as  to  the  impracticability  of  reporting  in  detail 
by  the  next  session  of  Congress  were  fully  realized  when  I  came  to  consider 
the  magnitude  of  the  subject  and  the  immense  scope  of  country  over  which  the 
inquiry  extended. 

You  were  pleased  to  express  the  hope,  however,  that  I  would  be  enabled  to 
collect  by  the  meeting  of  Congress  "  sufficient  data  to  furnish,  in  the  form  of  a 
preliminary  report,  the  basis  of  a  plan  of  operations  "  by  which  information  of 
a  more  detailed  and  comprehensive  character  could  be  procured  in  future. 

To  obtain  any  geological  or  statistical  data  whatever,  within  the  brief  space 
of  two  months,  precluded  the  possibility  of  a  personal  visit  to  the  mineral  re- 
gions prior  to  the  transmission  of  my  report.  The  experience  of  Mr.  William 
Ashburner  and  Mr.  A.  Remond,  members  of  the  State  geological  survey,  sat- 
isfied me  that  it  would  be  utterly  impracticable  to  examine  the  mines  of  a  single 
district,  much  less  of  all  the  States  arid  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
within  that  time.  Mr.  Ashburner  spent  eight  months  in  procuring  data  for 
a  single  table,  showing  the  operations  of  the  principal  quartz  mills  in  Mari- 
posa,  Tuolumne,  Calaveras,  Amador,  Eldorado,  Plumas,  Sierra,  and  Nevada 
counties.  Mr.  Remond  spent  three  months  in  visiting  the  principal  mines  and 
mills  in  that  part  of  Mariposa  and  Tuolumne  counties  lying  between  the  Mer- 
ced and  Stanislaus  rivers,  and  three  months  more  in  preparing  tables  showing 
the  results  of  his  observations. 

Under  these  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  I  had  already  visited 
nearly  every  mining  district  within  the  range  of  nay  instructions,  and  was  fa- 
miliar with  the  topography  of  the  country  and  the  general  condition  of  the 
mining  interest,  I  deemed  it  best  to  avail  myself  of  such  reliable  sources  of 
information  as  were  immediately  accessible.  San  Francisco  being  the  central 
point  of  trade  and  commerce  for  the  Pacific  coast,  afforded  facilities  in  the  way 
of  statistical  data  and  scientific  aid  which  could  not  be  obtained  elsewhere. 
From  this  point  nearly  all  the  capital  radiates,  here  the  records  of  all  mining 
enterprises  are  kept,  and  here  centre  the  products  of  the  mines. 


8  .  EESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

The  report  to  which  your  attention  is  respectfully  invited  embodies  the  re- 
sults of  many  years  of  careful  and  laborious  research.  It  is  compiled  from  origi- 
nal data  furnished  by  the  most  intelligent  statisticians  and  experts  known  on 
this  coast,  as  well  as  from  notes  made  by  myself  during  the  past  three  years. 
""  In  many  respects  this  report  is  imperfect.  No  reliable  system  has  hitherto 
existed  for  the  collection  of  mining  statistics,  such  as  the  governments  of  Eu- 
rope have  long  since  deemed  it  expedient  to  establish.  The  existing  system  in 
the  British  colonies  of  Australia  and  North  America,  though  not  adapted  to  our 
mineral  regions,  or  to  the  habits  and  customs  of  our  people,  is  both  thorough 
and  comprehensive.  Surveyors  and  registrars  are  appointed  for  each  district, 
and  all  mining  operations  are  carried  on  under  their  inspection.  Monthly  and 
quarterly  reports  are  made  by  them,  under  the  direction  of  a  supervising  officer, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  collect  and  arrange  all  the  data  thus  furnished  for  publica- 
tion. These  reports  show  the  actual  condition  of  every  branch  of  mining  in- 
dustry from  month  to  month  and  quarter  to  quarter,  so  that  at  the  expiration  of 
the  year  a  complete  history  is  given  of  the  progress  of  development  and  the 
profits  and  losses  of  mining.  A  permanent  system  like  this,  established  upon  a 
somewhat  different  basis,  is  greatly  needed  in  our  country. 

One  of  the  difficulties  already  experienced  in  the  collection  of  mining  statistics 
on  this  coast  is  the  disinclination  of  parties  interested  to  expose  the  secrets  of 
their  business.  Either  the  business  is  not  remunerative  and  they  desire  to  en- 
courage further  investments  by  false  representations,  or  by  withholding  the  truth  ; 
or,  if  unusually  successful,  they  may  consider  it  to  their  interest,  in  view  of  fur- 
ther purchases,  arrangements,  or  contracts,  to  avoid  giving  publicity  to  the  facts. 
I  am  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  the  advantages  of  fair  and  truthful  state- 
ments, in  the  encouragement  of  immigration,  the  reduction  of  the  cost  of  labor, 
the  promotion  of  confidence  in  mining  enterprises,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
more  uniform  system  of  laws,  will  soon  become  apparent.  Indeed,  the  difficulty 
to  which  I  refer  is  not  so  general,  even  now,  as  might  be  supposed.  I  have  found 
mining  companies,  doing  a  steady  and  reliable  business,  nearly  always  disposed 
to  furnish  the  desired  information.  The  cases  of  refusal  are  exceptional,  and 
there  is  usually  a  cause  for  it,  well  understood  by  persons  familiar  with  mining 
enterprises. 

Another  difficulty,  which,  however,  will  not  exist  to  so  great  an  extent  here- 
after, has  been  the  conflicting  character  of  statements  made  by  different  parties. 
In  many  instances  where  the  sources  of  information  are  equally  reliable,  but 
where  conflicting  influences  prevail,  it  is  almost  impossible,  after  the  lapse  of 
any  great  length  of  time,  to  get  at  the  exact  truth.  Even  facts,  seen  from  dif- 
ferent stand-points,  appear  differently  to  the  most  conscientious  persons.  In 
cases  of  this  kind,  where  the  proofs  on  either  side  are  not  positive,  I  have  pre- 
ferred— sometimes  at  the  expense  of  prolixity — to  give  the  different  statements, 
especially  where  there  is  a  general  concurrence  of  testimony  as  to  the  main  facts. 
Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  amount  of  bullion  produced  on  the  Pacific  coast 
is  variously  estimated  by  the  best  informed  and  most  intelligent  men.  Mr.  Ash- 
burner's  estimates  are  somewhat  lower  than  those  usually  accepted  by  the  public, 
but  I  believe  they  are  well-considered.  Gold  and  silver  are  so  generally  blended 
together  under  the  head  of  "  bullion,"  that  none  of  the  express  companies  or 
bankers  have  hitherto  kept  separate  records  of  the  products  of  each.  It  would 
be  very  difficult  to  obtain  correct  returns  on  this  point,  unless  the  numerous 
assay  offices  and  the  authorities  at  the  branch  mint  could  furnish  details  of  the 
quantity  obtained  by  parting,  or  by  estimating  the  bullion  passing  through  their 
establishments — the  two  metals  are  so  universally  alloyed  with  each  other. 

Mr.  Swain,  superintendent  of  the  branch  mint  at  San  Francisco,  a  gentleman 
possessing  both  the  means  and  the  disposition  to  inform  himself  on  this  subject, 


WEST     OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  9 

estimates  the  product  of  gold  and  silver  for  Oregon,  California,  Nevada,  and 
Washington  Territory,  as  follows  : 

In  18G1 $43,  391,  000 

In  1862 49,  370,  000 

In  1863 52,  500,  000 

In  1864 ^ 63,  450,  000 

In   1865 : ; 70,  000,000 


Well-informed  parties  estimate  the  product  for  1866  as  follo.ws  : 

California $25,  000,  000 

Montana 18,  000,  000 

Idaho 17,  000,  000 

Colorado 17,  000,  000 

Nevada 16,  000,  000 

Oregon 8,  000,  000 

Other  sources 5,  000,  000 


Total 106,  000,  000 


Great  differences  of  opinion,  however,  exist  as  to  the  accuracy  of  this  esti- 
mate. To  some  it  appears  exaggerated,  while  others  pronounce  it  far  below 
the  actual  yield.  The  imperfect  returns  received  for  the  last  nine  months  would 
seem  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  an  unreasonable  estimate.  For  in- 
stance, the  product  of  Oregon  is  assumed  to  be  $8,000,000.  Statistical  tables, 
supposed  to  be  worthy  of  credit,  show  a  probable  yield  for  that  State  of 
$20,000,000.  In  1865  the  generally  accepted  estimate  for  Oregon  was  $19, 000,000, 
though  that  was  probably  above  the  actual  product.  There  is  good  ground  for 
believing  that  the  result  this  year  will  be  considerably  above  that  of  the  last 
year.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Territories  of  Idaho  and  Montana. 

In  like  manner,  the  capital  in  circulation  in  California,  and  necessary  for  the 
transaction  of  business  within  the  limits  of  the  State,  is  vari^u^ly  estimated  at 
from  $25,000,000  to  $50,000,000.  It  is  believed  that  $10,000,000  is  annually 
shipped  up  to  the  mines  to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  mining ;  but  there  is 
no  record  of  the  return  of  this  amount  in  the  form  of  a  circulating  medium. 

Assuming  the  estimate  of  the  product  of  bullion,  as  above  given,  to  be  ap- 
proximately correct,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  States  and  Territories  on  the  Pacific 
slope  produce  annually  upwards  of  $100,000,000  of  the  precious  metals,  a 
quantity  more  than  four  times  as  great  as  the  total  product  of  the  world  less 
than  thirty  years  ago.  The  improved  processes  for  the  extraction  of  these 
metals  from  their  ores,  made  within  the  past  two  years,  and  the  constantly  in- 
creasing area  over  which  gold  and  silver  mines  are  being  developed,  furnish 
strong  guarantees  that  there  will  be  no  abatement  in  the  product  for  years  to 
come,  provided  government  places  no  impediments  in  the  way  by  impolitic 
legislation.  The  recent  financial  panic  in  Europe  afforded  an  illustration  of  the 
importance  of  encouraging  this  branch  of  industry.  Within  sixty  days  during 
that  panic  there  was  exported  from  San'Francisco  the  enormous  sum  of  $  12,000,000 
in  gold  and  silver,  without  which,  it  is  well  known,  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  United  States  would  have  suffered  in  sympathy  with  those  of  our  best 
customers  in  England.  The  shipments  of  specie  from  San  Francisco  to  New 
York  during  the  first  eight  months  of  1866  amounted  to  $27,729,010. 

There  is  a  more  striking  form  in  which  the  importance  of  the  gold  and  silver 
mines  of  the  Pacific  coast  on  the  national  welfare  may  be  illustrated. 

The  product  of  these  metals  for  the  present  year  exceeds  in  amount  all  the 
gold  and  silver  in  the  national  treasury,  and  in  all  the  banks  in  all  the  States. 


10  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

t 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shows  that  the  bul- 
lion in  that  department  on  the  1st  of  August 'last  was $61,  000,  000 

The  banks  at  New  York,  at  same  date,  report  having 5,  000,  000 

The  banks  at  Boston  and  Philadelphia  report GOO,  000 

The  last  quarterly  report  of  all  the  national  banks  in  the  United 

States,  outside  of  the  above  cities,  reports 1,  600,  000 

State  banks  outside  of  those  cities  estimated  at 1,  500,  000 


Total. .  , 69,  700,  000 


The  approximate  estimate  already  given  of  the  gold  and  silver  product  of 
the  Pacific  States  and  Territories  for  1866  shows  a  total  of  $106,000,000,  or 
nearly  double  the  combined  bullion  of  the  government  and  all  the  banks  in  the 
country. 

For  convenience  of  reference  the  report  transmitted  to  you  is  divided  into 
sections  and  clauses,  of  which  the  following  is  a  brief  summary  : 

Section  1  contains  a  historical  sketch  of  the  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  in 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  ;  the  excitement 
consequent  upon  the  development  of  rich  placer  diggings  in  California  ;  the 
crude  means  adopted  in  the  early  stages  of  gold  mining  on  the  Pacific  coast ; 
the  introduction  of  improved  processes,  and  the  extraordinary  results  that  fol- 
lowed in  the  sudden  increase  of  commerce  and  the  extension  of  the  area  of 
civilization.  In  this  section  a  sketch  is  also  given  of  the  discovery  of  the 
Comstock  lode  and  the  development  of  the  silver  mining  interest  east  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains. 

Section  2  refers  chiefly  to  the  geological  features  of  California,  and  the  prom- 
inent characteristics  of  the  principal  lodes  in  the  great  mineral  belt.  The  pres- 
ent production  of  the  gold  mines  is  given  from  actual  data  derived  from  inves- 
tigations made  by  Professor  Ashburner,  of  the  State  geological  survey,  and  a 
comparison  is  made  between  the  products  of  California  and  Australia.  Detailed 
descriptions  are  given  of  a  few  leading  mines  in  Grass  valley  and  Mariposa, 
showing  the  expenses  and  profits  of  gold  mining  as  a  permanent  business. 

Section  3  give^minute  details  and  statistics  of  the  gold  and  silver  mining  in- 
terests on  the  Pacific  coast ;  the  improved  processes  and  results  ;  the  exports  of 
treasure  from  San  Francisco,  with  the  amount  received  from  the  mines  ;  cost  of 
extracting  the  ore  and  reducing  it ;  the  average  yield ;  the  machinery  in  use ; 
capital  and  labor  employed,  and  cost  of  working. 

Section  4  gives  a  historical  and  topographical  sketch  of  Nevada ;  the  prom- 
inent characteristics  of  the  principal  silver  mines  ;  the  alkali  lakes,  salt-beds, 
wood  and  water  privileges,  and  general  products.  Carefully  prepared  statistics 
are  given  in  this  section,  showing  the  expenses  of  silver  mining,  the  various  pro- 
cesses of  crushing  and  amalgamating  the  ores,  the  number  of  mills  in  actual 
operation,  the  profits  and  losses,  with  a  general  review  of  the  condition  of  the 
mining  interest.  It  also  contains  brief  sketches  of  Utah,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington Territory,  Montana  and  Arizona,  with  such  reliable  data,  showing  the  con- 
dition and  prospects  of  the  mines,  as  could  be  obtained. 

Section  5  is  devoted  to  the  copper  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast.  In  this  paper 
a  history  of  the  discovery  of  every  notable  copper  lode  is  given ;  the  extent  of 
the  veins;  the  quality  of  the  ore;  the  process  of  reduction;  the  costs  of 
machinery  and  working ;  the  yield,  and  the  profits  and  losses.  Special  atten- 
tion is  called  to  the  great  national  importance  of  this  interest. 

Section  6  contains  a  report  on  the  quicksilver  mines  of  California,  with  sta- 
tistics of  production. 

Section  7  gives  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  borax  in  California ;  tlie  pro- 
cess of  working  the  borax  deposits ;  their  extent  and  value ;  some  account  of 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  11 

the  sulphur  deposits ;  and  reports  on  the  tin  mines  of  Temescal,  and  the  coal 
and  iron  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Section  8.  Mining  regions,  population,  altitude,  &c. 

Section  9.  An  annonated  catalogue  of  the  minerals  found  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains. 

Section  10.  Mining  titles  ;  the  laws  and  customs  of  foreign  governments  ;  the 
crown  right,  and  peculiar  doctrines  held  under  that  right ;  the  recent  legislation 
of  our  own  government ;  recommendations  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
passage  of  a  law  for  the  sale  of  mineral  lands,  and  general  approval  of  the  pol- 
icy adopted. 

Section  11.  Local  customs;  difficulties  arising  therefrom;  the  necessity  of  some 
uniform  system ;  importance  of  congressional  legislation  for  the  systematic 
working  of  the  mines,  and  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  .policy  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  great  mineral  resources  of  the  country. 

Section  12.  A  list  of  the  most  important  works  published  in  reference  to  the 
geology,  mineralogy,  and  metallurgy  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Section  13.  Population  of  the  mining  regions ;  agricultural  resources  ;  table  of 
distances,  &c. 

From  the  above  synopsis  it  will  be  seen  that  an  earnest  attempt,  at  least,  has 
been  made  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  department  as  expressed  in  the  letter  of 
instructions  hereto  appended.  Want  of  time  for  a  more  systematic  arrangement 
has  been  the  only  serious  obstacle  to  move  satisfactory  results. 

One  of  the  most  important  subjects  considered  in  the  report  is  the  discrep- 
ances existing  between  the  local  rules  and  customs  upon  which  a  material  part 
of  the  late  mineral  land  law  is  based  and  the  statutes  of  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories. The  policy  of  granting  titles  to  the  miners  in  fee-simple  has  met  with  such 
universal  approval,  and  the  time  has  been  so  short  since  the  law  went  into  oper- 
ation, that  I  have  serious  doubts  as  to  the  expediency  of  an  immediate  change. 
Attention  has  been  called  to  some  of  the  difficulties  arising  from  the  loose  inter- 
pretations given  to  local  rules  and  customs,  and  in  many  cases  the  entire  im- 
practicability of  determining  what  they  are  or  ascertaining  where  they  are  to 
be  found.  Some  provision  requiring  official  records  to  be  kept  might,  perhaps, 
have  a  beneficial  effect.  Reasons  doubtless  exist  for  the  differences  in  the  size 
of  the  claims  in  different  districts.  The  rules  which  would  apply  to  the  Reese 
River  district,  where  the  ledges  are  extremely  narrow  and  close  to  each  other, 
would  scarcely  be  applicable  to  districts  in  which  the  ledges  are  of  great  width 
and  far  apart.  Still,  without  descending  to  details  in  a  general  law,  some  regard 
should  be  had  to  uniformity ;  and  especially  some  fixed  principle  should  be 
adopted  as  to  the  local  laws  which  shall  govern  in  all  conflicting  cases.  The 
policy  of  giving  every  advantage  to  the  practical  miner  over  the  mere  specu- 
lator will  at  once  be  conceded.  This,  I  think,  can  only  be  carried  into  effect 
by  national  legislation.  A  general  law,  based  somewhat  upon  the  principles 
incorporated  in  the  mining  law  of  Mexico,  but  more  liberal  in  its  provisions, 
will  probably  be  required  before  long.  The  holding  of  claims  without  working  ; 
the  seizure  of  mining  property  for  debt;  the  abandonment  of  claims;  the  de- 
struction of  timber ;  the  monopoly  of  salt-beds ;  these  are  subjects  worthy  of 
serious  consideration. 

In  the  preparation  of  a  preliminary  report  I  have  been  compelled  to  depend 
chiefly  upon  the  labors  of  other  and  abler  hands.  To  Mr.  Hittell,  author  of  a 
very  excellent  work  on  the  resources  of  California,  Professor  Whitney,  Mr. 
Ashburner,  and  Mr.  Gabb,  of  the  State  geological  survey,  Professor  Blake,  au- 
thor of  various  standard  works  on  the  geology  and  mineral  resources  of  Cali- 
fornia, Baron^Von  Richthofen,  the  distinguished  German  savant,  Mr.  Degroot,  an 
experienced  statistician  and  topographer,  Mr.  Bennett,  a  mining  expert,  tho- 
roughly familiar  with  the  mineral  regions,  to  Dr.  Blachley,  of  Nevada,  and 
others,  I  am  indebted  for  nearly  all  that  is  really  valuable  in  the  report. 


12  EESOURCES  OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

It  is  my  intention  to  visit  the  various  mineral  districts  of  the  Pacific  slope 
during  the  coming  spring  and  summer.  Personal  examination  of  the  mines, 
increased  experience,  and  sufficient  time  for  the  careful  preparation  of  the  ma- 
terial collected,  will  enable  me,  I  trust,  to  present  for  your  consideration,  before 
the  next  meeting  of  Congress,  a  report  better  worthy  of  your  approval  than  that 
just  submitted.  Reliable  statistics  and  valuable  information,  showing  the  re- 
sources and  products  of  our  new  States  and  Territories,  c'annot  fail  to  result 
beneficially  to  the  country  and  the  government.  Nothing  can  tend  in  a  greater 
degree  to  encourage  immigration  and  the  investment  of  capital. 

The  question  arises,  how  can  the  object  be  best  accomplished  in  the  future  ? 
A  statistical  bureau  for  the  Pacific  coast  has  been  recommended. 

It  is  manifest  to  my  mind  that  the  work  cannot  be  properly  done  by  bureau 
organization.  Information  derived  from  interested  parties  by  means  of  blanks 
and  circulars,  sent  out  over  the  mining  regions,  would  be  very  imperfect  and 
for  the  most  part  unreliable. 

The  plan  that  appears  to  me  most  feasible  would  be — 

~~lst.  To  authorize  the  appointment  in  each  State  and  Territory  of  an  able  and 
experienced  geologist,  familiar  with  all  the  operations  of  mining. 

2d  Annual  reports  to  be  made  by  each  officer  so  appointed  and  assigned  to 
duty,  under  official  instructions,  to  the  supervising  commissioner  at  San  Francisco. 

3d.  The  commissioner  to  make  a  visit  every  year  to  each  mining  district,  for 
the  purpose  of  personal  inspection  of  the  mines,  and  conference  with  his  assist- 
ants ;  after  which  he  would  be  prepared  to  make  his  annual  report  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury. 

Proper  measures,  of  course,  would  be  taken  to  secure  the  official  returns  of 
assessors,  surveyors,  tax  collectors,  and  other  local  State  or  territorial  officers. 

The  expense  would  be  comparatively  trifling,  inasmuch  as  the  services  of  pro- 
fessional experts  could  be  had  without  requiring  their  entire  time.  A  small 
compensation  to  each  would  be  an  object  of  some  importance. 

An  appropriation  of  $25,000  would  probably  be  sufficient  to  inaugurate  such 
a  system,  though  a  much  larger  amount  could  be  advantageously  expended. 

In  the  hope  that  these  suggestions,  hastily  made  and  informally  stated,  may 
at  least  furnish  some  ground  for  action,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 
your  obedient  servant, 

J.  ROSS  BROWNE, 

Special  Commissioner. 

Hon.  H.  McCuLLOCH, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


WEST    OF    THE    EOCKY    MOUNTAINS.  13 

SECTION  1. 

HISTORICAL    SKETCH   OF    GOLD    AND    SILVER   MINING   ON  THE  PACIFIC 

SLOPE. 

1.  First  mention  of  gold. — 2.  Gold  found  before  1848. — 3.  Marshall's  discovery. — 4.  The 
gold  discovery  in  print. — 5.  Excitement  abroad. — 6.  Pan  washing. — 7.  The  rocker. — 
8.  Mining  ditches.— 9.  Miners'  "  rushes."— 10.  Gold  Lake  and  Gold  Bluff.— 11.  The 
"torn." — 12.  The  sluice. — 13.  Placer  leads  traced  to  quartz. — 14.  A  gold-dredging 
machine. — 15.  Decrease  of  wages. — 1C.  Growth  of  the  quartz  interest. — 17.  Failures 
in  quartz. — 18.  Improvement  in  quartz  minmg. — 19.  The  hydraulic  process.— 20.  Hill 
mining.— 21.  Decline  of  river  mining.— 22.  "  Rushes"  to  Australia.—  23.  The  Kern 
river  excitement. — 24.  Ancient  rivers. — 25.  The  Tuolumne  table  mountain. —26.  The 
Fraser  fever.— 27.  Discovery  of  Comstock  lode.— 28.  The  Washoe  excitement.— 29.  The 
barrel  and  yard  process.— 30.  The  pan  process.— 3 1 .  Growth  of  the  Washoe  excitement.— 
32.  Virginia  City. — 33.  The  silver  panic. — 34.  Litigation  about  the  Comstock  ledge. — 
35.  The  many-lode  theory. — 36.  Expenses  increasing  with  depth. — 37.  Some  charac- 
teristics of  Esmeralda,  Humboldt,  and  Reese  rivers.— 38.  Sutro  tunnel  project  and— 39. 
Baron  Richthofen's  report.— 40.  Columbia  basin  and  Cariboo  mines. 


1.— FIRST  MENTION  OF  GOLD. 

The  first  mention  of  gold  in  California  is  made  in  Hakluyt's  account  of  the 
voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  spent  five  weeks  in  June  and  July,  1579,  in 
a  bay  near  latitude  38°  ;  whether  Drake's  bay  or  San  Francisco  bay  is  a  matter 
of  dispute.  It  certainly  was  one  of  the  two,  and  of  neither  can  we  now  say 
with  truth,  as  Hakluyt  said  seriously,  ''There  is  no  part  of  the  earth  here  to  be 
taken  up  wherein  there  is  not  a  reasonable  quantity  of  gold  or  silver."  This 
statement,  taken  literally,  is  untrue,  and  it  was  probably  made  without  any  foun- 
dation, merely  for  the  purpose  of  embellishing  the  story  and  magnifying  the 
importance  of  Drake  and  of  the  country  which  he  claimed  to  have  added  to  the 
possessions  of  the  English  crown. 

If  any  "  reasonable  quantity"  of  gold  or  silver  had  been  obtained  by  the  Eng- 
lish adventurers,  we  should  probably  have  had  some  account  of  their  expedi- 
tions into  the  interior,  of  the  manner  and  place  in  which  the  precious  metals 
were  obtained,  and  of  the  specimens  which  were  brought  home,  but  of  these 
things  there,  is  no  mention. 

Neither  gold  nor  silver  exists  "  in  reasonable  quantity"  near  the  ocean  about 
latitude  38°,  and  the  inference  is  that  Drake's  discovery  of  gold  in  California 

was  a  matter  of  fiction  more  than  of  fact. 

• 

2.— GOLD  FOUND  BEFORE  1848. 

Some  small  deposits  of  placer  gold  were  found  by  Mexicans  near  the  Colo- 
rado river  at  various  times  from  1775  to  1828,  and  in  the  latter  year  a  similar 
discovery  was  made  at  San  Isidro,  in  what  is  now  San  Diego  county,  and  in 
1802  a  mineral  vein,  supposed  to  contain  silver,  at  Olizal,  in  the  district  of  Mon- 
terey, attracted  some  attention,  but  no  profitable  mining  was  done  at  either  of 
these  places. 

Forbes,  who  wrote  the  history  of  California  in  1835,  said  "  No,  minerals  of 
particular  importance  have  yet  been  found  in  Upper  California,  nor  any  ores  of 
metals." 

It  was  in  1838,  sixty-nine  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Franciscan  friars, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  first  mission,  that  the  placers  of  San  Francisquito, 


14  RESOURCES    OF   STATES    AND  TERRITORIES 

forty-five  miles  northwest  from  Los  Angeles,  was  discovered.  The  deposit  of 
gold  was  neither  extensive  nor  rich,  but  it  was  worked  steadily  for  twenty  years. 
In  1841  the  exploring  expedition  of  Commodore  Wilkes  visited  the  coast,  and 
its  mineralogist,  James  D,  Dana,  made  a  trip  overland  from  the  Columbia  river, 
by  way  of  Willamette  and  Sacramento  valleys  to  San  Francisco  bay,  and 
in  the  following  year  he  published  a  .book  on  mineralogy,  and  mentioned  in  it 
that  gold  was  found  in  the  Sacramento  valley,  and  that  rocks  similar  to  those 
of  the  auriferous  formations  were  observed  in  southern  Oregon.  Dana  did  not 
regard  his  discovery  as  of  any  practical  value,  and  if  he  said  anything  about  it 
in  California  no  one  paid  any  attention  to  it.  Nevertheless,  many  persons  had 
an  idea  that  the  country  was  rich  in  minerals,  and  on  the  4th  of  May,  1846, 
Thomas  O.  Larkin,  then  United  States  consul  in  Monterey,  a  gentleman  usually 
careful  to  keep  his  statements  within  the  limits  of  truth,  said  in  an  official  letter 
to  James  Buchanan,  then  Secretary  of  State  :  "  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  gold, 
silver,  quicksilver,  copper,  lead,  sulphur,  and  coal  mines  are  to  be  found  all  over 
California,  and  it  is  equally  doubtful  whether,  under  their  present  owners,  they* 
will  ever  be  worked." 

The  implication  here  is  that  if  the  country  were  only  transferred  to  the  Amer- 
ican flag,  these  mines,  of  whose  existence  he  knew  nothing  save  by  surmise,  or 
by  the  assertion  of  incompetent  persons,  would  soon  be  opened  and  worked.  In 
sixty-six  days  after  that  letter  was  written,  the  stars  and  stripes  were  hoisted 
in  Monterey,  and  now  California  is  working  mines  of  all  the  minerals  mentioned 
by  Larkin  save  lead,  which  also  might  be  produced  if  it  would  pay,  since  there 
is  no  lack  of  its  ores. 

3.— MARSHALL'S  DISCOVERY. 

The  discovery  of  the  rich  gold  fields  of  the  Sacramento  basin  is  an  American 
achievement,  accomplished  under  the  American  dominion,  by  a  native  of  the 
United  States,  and  made  of  world-wide  importance  by  American  enterprise  and 
industry,  favored  by  the  liberal  policy  of  American  law. 

It  was  on  the  19th  day  of  January,  1848,  ten  days  before  the  treaty  of  Gua- 
dalupe  Hidalgo  was  signed,  and  three  months  before  the  ratified  copies  were  ex- 
changed, that  James  W.  Marshall,  while  engaged  in  digging  a  race  for  a  saw- 
mill at  Coloma,  about  thirty-five  miles  eastward  from  Sutler's  Fort,  found  some 
pieces  of  yellow  metal,  which  he  and  the  half  dozen  men  working  with  him  at 
the  mill  supposed  to  be  gold.  He  felt  confident  that  he  had  made  a  discovery 
of  great  importance,  but  he  knew  nothing  of  either  chemistry  or  gold  mining,  so 
he  could  not  prove  the  nature  of  the  metal  or  tell  how  to  obtain  it  in  paying 
quantities.  Every  morning  he  went  down  to  the  race  to  look  for  the  bits  of  the 
metal;  but  the  other  men  at  the  mill  thought  Marshall  was  very  wild  in  his 
ideas,  and  they  continued  their  labors  in  building  the  mill,  and  in  sowing  wheat, 
and  planting  vegetables.  The  swift  current  of  the  mill-race  washed  away  a 
considerable  body  of  earthy  matter,  leaving  the  coarse  particles  of  gold  behind, 
so  Marshall's  collection  of  specimens  continued  to  accumulate,  and  his  associ- 
ates began  to  think  there  might  be  something  in  his  gold  mine  after  all.  About 
the  middle  of  February,  a  Mr.  Bennett,  one  of  the  party  employed  at  the  mill, 
went  to  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  learning  whether  this  metal  was  pre- 
cious, and  there  he  was  introduced  to  Isaac  Humphrey,  who  had  washed  for 
gold  in  Georgia.  The  experienced  miner  saw  at  a  glance  that  he  had  the  true 
stuff  before  him,  and  after  a  few  inquiries  he  was  satisfied  that  the  diggings 
must  be  rich.  He  made  immediate  preparation  to  go  to  the  mill,  and  tried  to 
persuade  some  of  his  friends  to  go  with  him,  but  they  thought  it  would  be  only 
a  Waste  of  time  and  money,  so  he  went  with  Bennett  for  his  sole  companion. 

He  arrived  at  Coloma  on  the  7th  of  March,  and  found  the  work  at  the  mill 
going  on  as  if  no  gold  existed  in  the  neighborhood.  The  next  day  he  took  a 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  15 

pan  and  spade  and  washed  some  of  the  dirt  from  the  bottom  of  the  mill  race  in 
places  where  Marshall  had  found  his  specimens,  and  in  a  few  hours  Humphrey 
declared  that  these  mines  were  far  richer  than  any  in  Georgia. 

He  now  made  a  rocker  and  went  to  work  washing  gold  industriously,  and 
every  day  yielded  him  an  ounce  or  two  of  metal.  The  men  at  the  mill  made 
rockers  for  themselves,  and  all  were  soon  busy  in  search  of  the  yellow  metal. 

Everything  else  was  abandoned ;  the  rumor  of  the  discovery  spread  slowly. 
In  the  middle  of  March,  Pearson  B.  Reading,  the  owner  of  a  large  ranch  at  the 
head  of  the  Sacremento  valley,  happened  to  visit  Sutter's  Fort,  and  hearing  of 
the  mining  at  Coloma,  he  went  thither  to  see  it.  He  said  that  if  similarity  of 
formation  could  be  taken  as  proof,  there  must  be  gold  mines  near  his  ranch,  so 
after  observing  the  method  of  washing,  he  posted  off,  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  was 
at  work  on  the  bars  of  Clear  creek,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  northwestward 
from  Coloma.  A  few  days  after  Reading  had  left,  John  Bid  well,  now  represent- 
ative of  the  northern  district  of  the  State  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress,  came 
to  Coloma,  and  the  result  of  his  visit  was  that  in  less  than  a  month  he  had  a 
party  of  Indians  from  his  ranch  washing  gold  on  the  bars  of  Feather  river, 
seventy-five  miles  northwestward  from  Coloma.  Thus  the  mines  were  opened 
at  far  distant  points. 

4.— THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  IN  PRINT. 

The  first  printed  notice  of  the  discovery  was  given  in  the  California  news- 
paper published  in  San  Francisco,  on  the  15th  of  March,  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  newly  made  race-way  of  the  saw-mill  recently  erected  by  Captain 
Sutter  on  the  American  Fork,  gold  has  been  found  in  considerable  quantities. 
One  person  brought  thirty  dollars  to  New  Helvetia,  gathered  there  in  a  short 
time." 

On  the  29th  of  May  the  same  paper,  announcing  that  its  publication  would 
be  suspended,  says  : 

"  The  whole  country,  from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles,  and  from  the  sea- 
shore to  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  resounds  with  the  sordid  cry  of  gold  ! 
sold  !  gold  !  while  the  field  is  left  half  planted,  the  house  half  built,  and  every- 
thing neglected  but  the  manufacture  of  picks  and  shovels,  and  the  means  of 
transportation  to  the  spot  where  one  man  obtained  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
dollars'  worth  of  the  real  stuff  in  one  day's  washing ;  and  the  average  for  all 
concerned  is  twenty  dollars  per  diem." 

The  towns  and  farms  were  deserted,  or  left  to  the  care  of  women  and  children, 
while  rancheros,  wood-choppers,  mechanics,  vaqueros,  and  soldiers  and  sailors 
who  had  deserted  or  obtained  leave  of  absence,  devoted  all  their  energies  to 
washing  the  auriferous  gravel  of.  the  Sacramento  basin.  Never  satisfied,  how- 
ever much  they  might  be  making,  they  were  continually  looking  for  new  placers 
which  might  yield  them  twice  or  thrice  as  much  as  they  had  made  before.  Thus 
the  area  of  their  labors  gradually  extended,  and  at  the  end  of  1848  miners  were 
at  work  in  every  large  stream  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  from 
the  Feather  to  the  Tuolumne  river,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
and  also  at  Reading's  diggings,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  Sacramento 
valley. 

5.— EXCITEMENT  ABROAD. 

The  first  rumors  of  the  gold  discovery  were  received  in  the  Atlantic  States 
and  in  foreign  countries  with  incredulity  and  ridicule ;  but  soon  the  receipts  of  the 
precious  metal  in  large  quantities,  and  the  enthusiastic  letters  of  army  officers 
and  of  men  in  good  repute,  changed  the  current  of  feeling,  and  an  excitement 
almost  unparalleled  ensued.  Oregon,  the  Hawaiian  islands,  and  Sonora  sent 
their  thousands  to  share  in  the  auriferous  harvest  of  the  first  year ;  and  in  the 


16  RESOURCES    OF    STATES     AND    TERRITORIES 

following  spring  all  the  adventurous  young  Americans  east  of  the  Rocky  mount- 
ains wanted  to  go  to  the  new  Eldorado,  where,  as  they  imagined,  everybody 
was  rich,  and  gold  could  he  dug  by  the  shovelful  from  the  bed  of  every  stream. 

Before  1850  the  population  of  California  had  risen  from  15,000,  as  it  was  in 
1847,  to  100,000,  and  the  average  increase  annually  for  five  or  six  years  was 
50,000. 

As  the  number  of  mines  increased,  so  did  the  gold  production  and  the  extent 
and  variety  of  the  gold  fields. 

In  1849  the  placers  of  Trinity  and  Mariposa  were  opened,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing years  those  of  Klamath  and  Scott's  valleys.  During  the  last  sixteen  years 
no  rich  and  extensive  gold  fields  have  been  discovered,  though  many  little 
placers  have  been  found,  and  some  very  valuable  deposits,  previously  unknown, 
have  been  brought  to  light  in  districts  which  had  been  worked  previous  to  1851. 

6.— PAN  WASHING. 

In  the  first  two  years  the  miners  depended  mainly  for  their  profits  on  the  pan 
and  the  rocker.  The  placer  miner's  pan  is  made  of  sheet  iron,  or  tinned  iron, 
with  a  flat  bottom  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  sides  six  inches  high,  inclining 
outwards  at  an  angle  of  thirty  or  forty  degrees. 

We  frequently  see  and  hear  the  phrase  "  golden  sands,"  as  if  the  gold  were 
contained  in  loose  sand  ;  but  usually  it  is  found  in  a  tough  clay,  which  envelops 
gravel  and  large  boulders  as  well  as  sand.  This  clay  must  be  thoroughly  dis- 
solved ;  so  the  miner  fills  his  pan  with  it,  goes  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  squats 
down  there,  puts  his  pan  underwater  and  shakes  it  horizontally,  so  as  to  get  the 
mass  thoroughly  soaked ;  then  he  picks  out  the  larger  stones  with  one  hand 
and  mashes  up  the  lAgest  and  toughest  lumps  of  clay,  and  again  shakes  his 
pan  ;  and  when  all  the  dirt  appears  to  be  dissolved  so  that  the  gold  can  be  car- 
ried to  the  bottom  by  its  weight,  he  tilts  up  the  pan  a  little  to  -let  the  thin  mud 
and  light  sand  run  out ;  and  thus  he  works  until  he  has  washed  out  all  except 
the  metal  which  remains  at  the  bottom. 

7.— THE  ROCKER. 

The  rocker,  which  was  introduced  into  the  California  mines  at  their  discovery, 
is  made  somewhat  like  a  child's  cradle.  On  the  upper  end  is  a  riddle,  made 
with  a  bottom  of  sheet-iron  punched  with  holes.  This  riddle  is  filled  with  pay- 
dirt,  and  a  man  rocks  the  machine* with  one  hand  while  with  a  dipper  he  pours 
water  into  the  riddle  with  the  other.  With  the  help  of  the  agitation,  the  liquid 
dissolves  the  clay  and  carries  it  down  with  the  gold  into  the  floor  of  the  rocker, 
where  the  metal  is  caught  by  traverse  riffles  or  cleets,  while  the  mud,  water,  and 
sand  run  off  at  the  lower  end  of  the  rocker,  which  is  left  open.  The  riddle  can 
be  taken  off  so  that  the  larger  stones  can  be  conveniently  thrown  off. 

In  places  where  there  was  not  water  enough  for  washing,  and  where  the  gold 
was  coarse,  the  miners  sometimes  scratched  the  metal  from  the  crevbes  in  the 
rocks  with  their  knives ;  but  the  pan  and  rocker  were  their  main  reliance  for 
three  or  four  years. 

In  many  places  the  rich  spots  were  soon  exhausted,  and  there  was  a  rapid 
decrease  in  the  profits  of  the  miners.  It  was  necessary  that  they  should  devise 
new  and  more  expeditious  methods  of  working,  so  that  they  could  wash  more 
in  a  day,  and  thus  derive  as  much  profit  as  they  had  obtained  by  washing  a 
little  dirt. 

8.— MINING  DITCHES. 

The  chief  want  of  the  placer  miner  is  an  abundant  and  convenient  supply  of 
water,  and  the  first  noteworthy  attempt  to  convey  the  needful  element  in  an 
artificial  channel  was  made  at  Coyote  Hill,  in  Nevada  county,  in  March,  1850. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  17 

This  ditch  was  about  two  miles  long,  and,  proving  a  decided  success,  was  imi- 
tated in  many  other  places,  until,  in  the  course  of  eight  years,  six  thousand 
miles  of  mining  canals  had  been  made,  supplying  all  the  principal  placer  dis- 
tricts with  water,  and  furnishing  the  means  for  obtaining  the  greater  portion  of  the 
gold  yield  of  the  State.  Many  of  the  ditches  were  marvels  of  engineering  skill. 

The  problem  was  to  get  the  largest  amount  of  water  at  the  greatest  altitude 
above  the  auriferous  ground,  and  at  the  least  immediate  expense,  as  money  was 
worth  from  three  to  ten  per  cent,  per  month  interest.  As  the  pay-dirt  might  be 
exhausted  within  a  couple  of  years,  and  as  the  anticipated  .profits  would  in  a 
short  time  be  sufficient  to  pay  for  an  entirely  new  ditch,  durability  was  a  point 
of  minor  importance.  There  was  no  imperial  treasury  to  supply  the  funds  for 
a  durable  aqueduct  in  every  township,  nor  could  the  impatient  miners  wait  a 
decennium  tor  the  completion  of  gigantic  structures  in  stone  and  mortar.  The 
high  value  of  their  time  and  the  scarcity  of  their  money  made  it  necessary 
that  the  cheapest  and  most  expeditious  expedients  for  obtaining  water  should 
be  adopted.  Where  the  surface  of  the  ground  furnished  the  proper  grade,  a 
ditch  was  dug  in  the  earth ;  and  where  it  did  not,  flumes  were  built  of  wood 
and  sustained  in  the  air  by  frame- work  that  rose  sometimes  to  a  height  of  three 
hundred  feet  in  crossing  deep  ravines,  and  extending  for  miles  at  an  elevation 
of  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  feet. 

All  the  devices  known  to  mechanics  for  conveying  water  from  hill-top  to 
hill-top  were  adopted.  Aqueducts  of  wood  and  pipes  of  iron  were  suspended 
upon  cables  of  wire,  or  sustained  on  bridging  of  wood ;  and  inverted  siphons 
carried  water  up  the  sides  of  one  hill  by  the  heavier  pressure  from  the  higher 
side  of  another. 

The  ditches  were  usually  the  property  of  companies,  of  which  there  were  at 
one  time  four  hundred  in  the  State,  owning  a  total  length  of  six  thousand  miles 
of  canals  and  flumes. 

The  largest  of  these,  called  the  Eureka,  in  Nevada  county,  has  two  hundred 
and  five  miles  of  ditches,  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $900,000  ;  and  their  receipts 
at  one  time  from  the  sale  of  water  were  $6,000  per  day.  Unfortunately  these 
mining  canals,  though  more  numerous,  more  extensive,  and  bolder  in  design 
than  the  aqueducts  of  Rome,  were  less  durable,  and  some  of  them  have  been 
abandoned  and  allowed  to  go  to  ruin,  so  that  scarcely  a  trace  of  their  existence 
remains,  save  in  the  heaps  of  gravel  from  which  the  clay  and  loam  were  washed 
in  the  search  for  gold. 

As  the  placers  in  many  districts  were  gradually  exhausted,  the  demand  for 
water  and  the  profits  of  the  ditch  companies  decreased ;  and  the  more  expensive 
flumes,  when  blown  down  by  severe  storms,  carried  away  by  floods,  or  destroyed 
by  the  decay  of  the  wood,  were  not  repaired. 

9.— MINERS'  "RUSHES." 

The  year  1850  was  marked  by  the  first  of  a  multitude  of  "rushes"  or  sud- 
den migrations  in  search  of  imaginary  rich  diggings. 

The  miners,  although  generally  men  of  rare  intelligence  as  compared  with 
the  laborers  in  other  countries,  had  vague  ideas  of  the  geological  distribution  of 
gold,  and  the  marvellous  amounts  dug  out  by  them,  sometimes  ascending  to  thou- 
sands of  dollars  per  day  to  the  laborer,  excited  their  fancy  so  much  that  they 
could  scarcely  have  formed  a  sound  judgment  if  they  had  possessed  the  inform- 
ation necessary  for  its  basis.  Many  believed  that  there  must  be  some  volcanic 
source  from  which  the  gold  had  been  thrown  up  and  scattered  over  the  hills, 
and  they  thought  that  if  they  could  only  find  that  place,  they  would  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  shovel  up  the  precious  metal  and  load  their  mules  with  it. 
More  than  once,  long  trains  of  pack  animals  were  sent  out  in  the  confident  ex- 
pectation that  they  would  get  loads  of  gold  within  a  few  days. 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 2 


18  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

No  story  was  too  extravagant  to  command  credence.  Men  who  ha5  neve 
earned  more  than  a  dollar  a  day  before  they  came  to  California  were  dissatisfied 
when  they  were  here  clearing  twenty  dollars,  and  they  were  always  ready  to  start 
off  on  some  expedition  in  search  of  distant  diggings  reputed  to  be  rich.  Although 
the  miners  of  to-day  have  better  ideas  of  the  auriferous  deposits  than  they  had 
sixteen  years  ago,  and  no  longer  expect  to  dig  up  the  pure  gold  by  the  shovel- 
ful, they  are  now,  as  they  have  been  since  the  discovery  of  the  mines,  always 
prepared  for  migration  to  any  new  field  of  excitement. 

10.— GOLD  LAKE  AND  GOLD  BLUFF. 

In  the  spring  of  1850  a  story  was  circulated  that  gold  was  lying  in  heaps  on 
the  bank  of  Gold  lake,  a  small  body  of  water  eastward  of  where  Downieville 
now  is.  Thousands  of  men  left  good  claims  to  join  this  rush,  but  after  weeks 
or  months  they  returned  much  poorer  than  they  started.  The  next  year  wit- 
nessed a  rush  to  Gold  Bluff,  on  the  ocean  shore  about  latitude  41°. 

The  sea  beating  against  a  high  auriferous  hill  had  left  a  wide  beach  contain- 
ing much  gold,  which  was  mixed  with  sand  that  was  very  rich  in  spots,  but  was 
shifted  about  under  the  influence  of  a  heavy  surf.  A  gentleman  of  much  intel- 
ligence, secretary  of  a  mining  company  which  claimed  a  portion  of  the  beach, 
examined  the  place  and  seriously  wrote  to  his  associates  that  each  one  would 
receive  at  least  $43,000,000  if  the  sand  proved  to  be  only  one-tenth  as  rich  as 
that  which  he  had  examined. 

Several  other  similar  statements  were  made  in  corrob oration.  The  mining 
population  were  wonderfully  excited  by  these  reports,  and  preparations  were 
made  for  a  large  migration  to  the  golden  beach ;  but  more  precise  information 
was  soon  published,  and  most  of  the  adventurers  who  had  started  were  disen- 
chanted before  the  vessels  in  which  they  were  to  sail  could  get  to  sea. 

H.— THE  "TOM." 

The  construction  of  hundreds  of  ditches  within  three  or  four  years  after  the 
successful  experiment  at  Coyote  Hill  gave  a  great  impulse  to  placer  mining, 
and  had  much  influence  to  change  its  character.  Before  the  water  had  been 
carried  in  artificial  channels  to  the  tops  or  high  upon  the  sides  of  the  hills,  nearly 
all  the  miners  spent  their  summers  in  washing  the  dirt  in  the  bars  of  the  rivers 
and  their  winters  in  working  the  beds  of  gullies,  which  were  converted  into 
brooks  during  the  rainy  season.  In  the  gullies  the  supply  of  pay-dirt  was 
usually  small,  and  the  claims  were  exhausted  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks. 

On  the  bars  the  water  was  below  the  level  of  the  pay-dirt,  and  had  to  be 
dipped  or  pumped  up  by  hand. 

These  circumstances  were  favorable  to  the  use  of  the  rocker ;  but  the  ditch 
brought  the  water  to  places  where  the  dirt  was  far  more  abundant  and  could  be 
obtained  with  more  facility,  though  it  was  poorer  in  quality,  and,  therefore,  the 
washing  of  a  larger  quantity  would  be  necessary  to  yield  an  equal  profit. 

New  modes  of  working  and  new  implements  must  be  introduced  to  accom- 
plish the  greater  amount  of  work,  and  the  torn  and  the  sluice  came  rapidly  into 
use.  The  torn  had  been  employed  for  years  in  the  placers  of  Georgia,  and  some 
Georgians  had  their  sluices  in  Nevada  county  in  the  latter  part  of  1849,  and  in 
February  of  the  following  year  a  party  at  Gold  Run,  in  that  county,  finding 
that  the  bed  of  the  ravine  did  not  give  them  enough  fall,  made  a  long  board 
trough  on  the  hill-side  leading  down  to  their  torn,  and  the  pay-dirt  from  the  claim 
was  thrown  up  to  a  board  platform,  and  from  that  thrown  up  to  the  head  of  the 
trough,  and  the  water  carried  the  dirt  down  to  the  torn. 

I  am  indebted  for  information  on  this  point  to  B.  P.  Avery,  esq. 

The  purpose  of  this  trough  was  mainly  to  save  the  labor  of  carrying  the  dirt 
by  hand  from  the  claim  to  the  torn ;  but  the  trough  having  been  once  built,  its 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  19 

value  in  washing  gold  was  soon  apparent.  It  was,  however,  the  ditch  that 
gave  opportunities  for  the  general  introduction  of  the  torn  and  sluice,  and  in 
most  districts  they  were  unheard  of  until  late  in  1850  or  1851. 

The  torn  is  a  trough  about  twelve  feet  long,  eight  inches  deep,  fifteen  inches 
wide  at  the  head  and  thirty  at  the  foot. 

A  riddle  of  sheet  iron  punched  with  holes  half  an  inch  in  diameter  forms  the 
bottom  of  the  tonvat  the  lower  end,  so  placed  that  all  the  water  and  their  mud 
shall  fall  down  through  the  holes  of  the  riddle  and  none  pass  over  the  sides  or 
end.  The  water  falls  from  the  riddle  into  a  flat  box  with  transverse  elects  or 
riffles, 'and  these  are  to  catch  the  gold. 

A  stream  of  water  runs  constantly  through  the  torn,  into  the  head  of  which 
the  pay-dirt  is  thrown  by  several  men,  while  one  throws  out  the  stones  too  large 
to  pass  through  the  riddle,  and,  throws  back  to  the  head  of  the  torn  the  lumps 
of  clay  whicl*  reach  the  foot  without  being  dissolved. 

12.— THE  SLUICE. 

The  torn  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  rocker,  but  it  was  soon  superseded 
by  a  still  greater,  the  sluice,  which  is  a  board  trough,  from  a  hundred  to  a 
thousand  feet  long,  with  transverse  elects  at  the  lower  end  to  catch  the  gold. 
With  a  descent  of  one  foot  in  twenty  the  water  rushes  through  it  like  a 
torrent,  bearing  down  large  stones  and  tearing  the  lumps  of  clay  to  pieces. 
The  miners,  of  whom  a  dozen  or  a  score  may  work  at  one  sluice,  have  little 
to  do  save  to  throw  in  the  dirt  and  take  out  the  gold. 

Occasionally  it  may  be  necessary  to  throw  out  some  stones,  or  to  shovel  the 
dirt  along  to  prevent  the  sluice  from  choking,  but  these  attentions  cost  relatively 
very  little  time.  The  sluice  is  the  best  device  heretofore  used  for  washing 
gold,  and  is  supposed  to  be  unsurpassable.  It  has  been  used  here  more  exten- 
sively than  elsewhere,  although  it  has  been  introduced  by  men  who  have  been 
in  pur  own  mines,  into  Australia,  New  Zealand,  British  Columbia,  Transylvania, 
and  many  other  countries. 

The  sluice,  though  an  original  invention  here,  had  been  previously  invented 
in  Brazil ;  but  it  was  never  brought  to  much  excellence  there  nor  used  exten- 
sively, and  no  such  implement  was  known  in  1849  in  the  industry  of  gold 
mining. 

At  first  the  sluices  were  made  short,  and  afterwards  lengthened,  until  some 
were  a  mile  long,  the  length  being  greater  as  the  gold  was  finer;  that  is,  if  the 
surface  of  the  earth  in  the  direction  of  the  sluice  was  favorable.  There  were 
many  little  variations  in  the  form  of  the  sluice,  to  suit  different  circumstances. 

The  ground  sluice  is  a  mere  ditch  on  a  hill  side  or  slope,  and  the  miners  dig 
up  the  bottom  and  dig  down  the  banks,  while  the  water  carries  away  the  clay 
and  leaves  the  gold ;  out  the  dirt  at  the  bottom  of  the  ground  sluice  must  after- 
wards be  washed  in  a  board  sluice. 

The  ground  sluice  has  been  used  to  grade  roads  and  to  carry  away  snow 
from  the  streets  of  mining  towns,  as  well  as  to  wash  gold. 

In  claims  where  many  large  stones  were  found  in  the  pay-dirt,  and  had  to  be 
carried  by  the  water  through  the  board  sluice,  or  where  the  sluice  was  to  be 
used  for  a  long  period,  they  were  paved  with  stones,  because  any  wooden  bottom 
was  rapidly  worn  out.  Sometimes  the  bed  of  a  stream  into  which  many  sluices 
emptied  was  converted  into  a  "tail  sluice,"  which  yielded  a  large  revenue,  with 
no  labor  save  that  of  occasionally  "cleaning  up"  or  washing  out  the  metal  from 
the  sand  deposited  in  the  crevices  between  the  stones. 

13.— PLACER  LEADS  TRACED  TO  QUARTZ 

The  placer  gold  had  originally  been  confined  in  rocky  veins  which  were 
disintegrated  by  the  action  of  chemical  or  mechanical  forces,,  and  the  lighter 


20  RESOURCES    OF   STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

material  was  swept  away  by  the  water,  while  the  heavier  remained  near  its 
primeval  position. 

The  gold  found  in  the  bars  of  large  streams  far  from  the  mountain*,  after 
having  been  carried  a  long  distance,  is  in  small  smooth  particles,  as  though  it 
had  been  ground  fine  and  polished  by  long  attrition. 

In  small  gullies  in  the  mountains  the  gold  is  usually  coarse  and  rough,  as  if 
it  had  suffered  little  change  after  being  freed  from  the  quartz  by  which  it  was 
once  surrounded. 

In  hundreds  of  instances  the  abundance  of  gold  in  a  gully  has  been  traced 
unmistakably  to  an  auriferous  quartz  lode  in  the  hill-side  above  it,  and  the 
placer  miners,  following  streaks  of  loose  gold,  have  been  brought  to  the  rocky 
source  from  which  it  came. 

In  this  manner  the  Allisen  mine  and  the  Comstock  lode,  not  to  mention  other 
less  celebrated  mines  or  veins,  were  found.  Such  discoveries  were  made  in 
1850,  and  in  the  following  year  capitalists  in  New  York  and  London,  anxious 
to  get  their  share  of  the  marvellous  wealth  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  formed  com- 
panies to  work  the  quartz  mines  at  Grass  valley  and  at  Mariposa. 

Millions  of  dollars  were  invested  in  machinery,  and  superintendents,  witb  the 
wildest  irieas,  were  sent  to  erect  mills  and  to  take  charge  of  the  precious  metals.. 
All  these  ventures  proved  complete  failures.  In  most  instances  the  machinery 
was  utterly  useless,  and  the  superintendents  utterly  incompetent. 

The  castings  for  the  mills  lay  about  the  wharves  of  San  Francisco  for  many 
years,  objects  of  curiosity  for  experienced  miners,  and  of  ridicule  for  the  general 
public. 

In  one  mill  the  metal  was  to  be  caught  in  a  course  sieve,  and  in  another  the 
quartz  was  to  be  crushed  by  a  rolling  ball.  The  mismanagement  was  so  gross 
and  the  losses  so  severe  that  foreign  capitalists  became  very  shy  of  California 
quartz  mines,  and  the  development  of  that  branch  of  industry  was  much 
retarded. 

14.— A  GOLD-DREDGING  MACHINE. 

It  was  not,  however,  in  quartz  mining  alone  that  ridiculous  blunders  were 
made.  Large  sums  of  money  were  expended  in  the  eastern  States  by  men 
who  had  never  seen  a  placer  mine,  and  had  no  correct  idea  of  the  nature  of  the 
gold  deposits,  in  making  machinery  *to  take  gold  more  expeditiously  from  the 
river  beds  and  bars  than  could  be  done  by  hand.  One  enterprising  New  York 
company  sent  a  dredging  machine  to  dig  the  metal  from  the  bottom  of  the 
Yuba  river,  never  questioning  whether  that  stream  was  deep  enough  in  the 
summer  to  float  such  a  machine,  or  whether  the  tough  clay  and  gravel  in  its 
bed  could  be  dug  up  by  a  dredger,  and  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the 
gold  is  mostly  in  the  crevices  of  the  bed-rock,  where  the  spoon  and  knife  of  the 
skilful  and  attentive  miner  would  be  necessary  for  cleaning  out  the  richest 
pockets. 

15.— DECREASE  OF  WAGES. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  sluice,  the  ditch,  and  the  hydraulic  process,  it 
became  customary  to  hire  laborers.  The  pan  and  the  rocker  required  every 
man  to  be  his  own  master. 

In  1849  each  miner  worked  for  himself,  or  the  exceptions  were  so  few  that 
thev  were  almost  unknown. 

The  method  of  working  made  it  impossible  for  the  employer  to  guard  against 
the  dishonesty  of  the  servant,  who  could  always  make  more  in  his  own  claim 
.than  any  one  could  afford  to  give  him.  Men  become  servants  usually  because 
they  have  no  capital,  and  cannot  get  into  profitable  employment  without  it ; 
but  there  was  no  lack  of  profitable  employment  for  the  miner  in  1849,  nor  did 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  21 

he  need  any  capital,  even  if  he  had  it.  But  the  sluice  brought  deep  diggings,  with 
large  masses  of  pay-dirt,  into  demand,  and  the  claims  were  held  at  high  prices, 
so  that  their  possession  was  in  itself  a  capital. 

There  had  been  an  abundance  of  rocker  claims  in  1849  ;  but  there  were  not 
enough  good  sluice  claims  three  .years  later  to  supply  one-third  of  the  miners. 
The  erection  of  a  long  sluice,  the  cutting  of  drains,  often  necessary  to  carry  off 
the  tailings,  arid  the  purchase  of  water  from  the  ditch  company,.required  capital, 
and  the  manner  of  cleaning  up  rendered  it  possible  for  the  owner  of  a  sluice  to 
prevent  his  servants  from  stealing  any  considerable  portion  of  his  gold  before 
it  came  to  his  possession.  Thus  it  was  that  the  custom  of  hiring  miners  for 
wages  became  common  in  the  placer  diggings. 

In  1852  the  wages  were  $6  or  $7  per  day;  the  next  year  about  $5,  since 
which  time  they  have  gradually  fallen,  until  now  they  are  from  $2  to  $3  50 
per  day;  the  skilful  quartz  miner  commanding  the  latter  sum. 

16.— GROWTH  OF  THE  QUARTZ  INTEREST. 

The  development  of  the  quartz  mining  interest  of  the  State  has  been  slow 
and  steady,  unlike  the  placer  mining,  which,  rising  suddenly  to  gigantic  propor- 
tions, soon  reached  its  culminating  point,  and  then  began  to  decline  rapidly. 

The  placers  had  been  discovered  by  miners  who  were  searching  for  them, 
and  who  spent  much  time  and  labor  in  the  search ;  but  in  early  years  most 
of  the  richest  auriferous  lodes  were  found  by  men  who  were  not  looking  for 
quartz. 

Hunters,  travellers,  placer  miners  and  road  makers  occasionally  came,  without 
thinking  of  it,  upon  valuable  veins,  which  they  immediately  claimed,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  work  or  sell. 

The  first  quartz  miners  in  California  were  Mexicans,  who  knew  how  gold- 
bearing  rocks  were  reduced  in  their  native  country. 

They  pounded  up  the  quartz  in  mortars,  or,  if  not  rich  enough  to  pay  for  re- 
duction in  that  way,  they  made  an  arrastra  or  little  circular  stone  pavement  in 
the  centre  of  which  stood  a  post.  To  an  arm  extending  out  from  this  was 
hitched  a  mule  which  dragged  round  a  heavy  piece  of  granite,  between  which 
and  the  pavement,  the  quartz  was  pulverized,  and,  when  fine,  the  gold  was 
caught  with  quicksilver  and  separated  from  the  base  matter  by  washing. 

This  process  required  neither  capital  nor  skilled  labor,  nor  delay,  nor  a  num- 
ber of  laborers.  The  owner  of  the  arrastra  could  dig  out  his  own  rock  one 
day,  and  reduce  it  the  next. 

As  a  matter  of  profit  he  usually  selected  only  the  richest  pieces  to  work  in 
the  arrastra,  throwing  aside  those  portions  that  would  not  yield  at  the  rate  of 
$75  or  more  per  ton. 

With  experience  in  the  observation  of  quartz,  and  a  mode  of  working  in 
which  failure  was  almost  impossible,  these  Mexicans  frequently  did  very  well; 

17.— FAILURE  IN  QUARTZ. 

Their  success  excited  the  envy  of  the  Americans,  who  would  purchase  e 
claims  at  high  prices,  and  tell  the  Mexicans  to  see  the  wonders  that  would  e 
done  by  American  enterprise. 

The  common  result  was  that  a  large  and  costly  steam-mill  was  erected ;  a 
multitude  of  laborers  were  employed ;  they  did  not  know  how  to  select  the 
rich  from  the  poor  quartz  ;  the  mill  was  so  large  that  it  could  not  be  kept  going 
at  its  full  capacity  without  receiving  all  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich  rock  acces- 
sible in  the  vein ;  the  amalgamator  did  not  understand  his  business ;  the  rich 
rock  in  which  the  Mexicans  had  been  at  work  was  soon  exhausted ;  the  credi- 
tors.who  had  loaned  money  for  the  erection  of  the  mill  brought  suit  to  foreclose 


22  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

their  mortgage ;  the  work  stopped ;  the  title  of  the  property  was  insecure  ;  and 
the  people  in  the  neighborhood  said  quartz  mining  was  a  very  uncertain  busi- 
ness. And  so  it  is  under  that  system  of  management ;  and  that  system,  leading 
to  failure,  was  followed  in  more  than  a  hundred  cases.  Mills  were  built  in 
places  where  only  a  little  pocket  of  rich  quartz  had  been  found,  and  if  the  pay- 
quartz  was  abundant  it  was  not  properly  selected ;  or,  if  selected,  the  amalga- 
mation was  intrusted  to  a  man  who  knew  nothing  of  the  business,  and  the  gold 
was  lost. 

Horace  Greeley  was  near  the  truth  when  he  said,  "  I  am  confident  that  fully 
three  out  of  every  four  quartz  mining  enterprises  have  proved  failures,  or  have 
at  best  achieved  no  positive  success."* 

And  yet  in  nearly  every  case  prudent  and  competent  management  would 
have  secured  success,  perhaps  on  only  a  small  scale,  because  in  many  instances 
the  quantity  of  pay-rock  was  small.  But  the  failure  of  three-fourths  of  the 
quartz  mills  built  in  early  years  did  not  prevent  the  continuous  increase  of 
mills,  and  of  the  yield  of  gold  from  quartz.  When  a  miner  found  a  vein  yel- 
low with  gold,  he  could  not  turn  his  back  on  it  because  his  neighbor's  mill  did 
not  pay.  Gradually  more  caution  was  used ;  competent  miners  and  metallur- 
gists became  numerous,  and  the  veins  were  carefully  examined  as  to  the  quan- 
tity of  pay -rock  before  mills  were  built. 

As  the  placers  declined  the  miners  were  compelled  to  turn  their  attention  to 
uartz,  and  prospecting  for  quartz  became  a  regular  business. 

18.— IMPROVEMENT  IN  QUARTZ  MINING. 

In  the  mode  of  pulverizing  and  reducing  quartz  comparatively  few  changes 
have  been  made.  In  some  mills  the  same  machinery  and  processes  have  been 
used  without  alteration  or  addition  for  ten  years.  There  is,  however,  a  general 
belief  that  the  business  has  not  been  properly  studied  by  any  one,  and  it  is 
certain  that  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  various  im- 
portant questions  involved  in  the  reduction  of  ores.  The  practice  is  not  uni- 
form either  in  regard  to  the  fineness  of  pulverization,  or  the  size  and  speed  of 
the  stamps,  or  the  mode  of  amalgamation.  Wood,  as  a  material  for  the  shafts 
of  stamps,  has  given  way  to  iron ;  the  square  form  has  been  replaced  by  the 
cylindrical ;  and  the  stamps,  instead  of  falling  with  a  simple  downward  motion, 
now  come  down  with  a  twist.  The  mortar  into  which  the  stamps  fall  is  now 
always  of  iron,  and  the  stamps  stand  in  a  straight  line  instead  of  forming  a 
circle,  as  they  did  in  some  mills  years  ago. 

Two  of  the  main  improvements  in  gold  quartz  mining  have  been  in  the  con- 
centration and  the  chlorination  of  sulphurets. 

19.— THE  HYDRAULIC  PROCESS. 

The  sluice,  though  perfect  as  a  device  for  washing  the  dirt,  was  not  the  last 
invention  in  placer  mining. 

The  shovel  did  not  furnish  earth  to  the  sluice  fast  enough,  and  the  wages  of 
a  dozen  workmen  must  be  saved  if  possible.  In  1852,  Edward  E.  Mattison,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  invented  the  process  of  hydraulic  mining,  in  which  a 
stream  of  water  was  directed  under  a  heavy  pressure  against  a  bank  or  hill-side 
containing  placer  gold,  and  the  earth  was  torn  down  by  the  fluid  and  carried 
into  the  sluice  to  be  washed ;  thus  the  expense  of  shovelling  was  entirely  saved. 

The  man  with  the  rocker  might  wash  one  cubic  yard  of  earth  in  a  day ;  with 
the  torn  he  might  average  two  yards ;  with  the  sluice  four  yards ;  and  with  the 
hydraulic  and  sluice  together  fifty  or  even  a  hundred  yards. 

*  An  Overland  Journey  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  in  the  summer  of  1 859,  by 
H  oace  Greeley,  page  289. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  23 

The  difference  is  immense.  A  stream  of  water  rushing  through  a  two-inch 
pipe,  under  a  pressure  of  two  hundred  feet  perpendicular,  has  tremendous  force, 
and  the  everlasting  hills-  themselves  crumble  down  before  it  as  if  they  were  but 
piles  of  cloud  blown  away  by  a  breath  of  wind  or  dissipated  by  a  glance  of 
the  sun. 

And  yet  even  this  terrific  power  has  not  sufficed*.  When  the  hills  have  been 
dried  by?months  of  constant  heat  and  drought,  the  clay  becomes  so  hard  that  the 
hydraulic  stream,  with  all  its  momentum,  does  not  readily  dissolve  it,  and  much 
of  the  water  runs  off  nearly  clear  through  the  sluice,  and  thus  is  wasted  for  the 
purposes  of  washing. 

The  sluice  could  wash  more  dirt  than  the  hydraulic  stream  will  furnish  when 
the  clay  is  hard  and  dry. 

To  prevent  this  loss,  the  miner  will  often  cut  a  tunnel  into  the  heart  of  his 
claim,  and  by  powder  blast  the  clay  loose,  so  that  it  will  give  way  more  readily 
tofTthe  water.  There  have  been  instances  in  which  two  tons  of  powder  have 
been  used  at  one  blast  in  a  hydraulic  claim. 

20.— HILL  MINING. 

As  the  introduction  of  the  ditch  led  to  the  use  of  the  sluice  and  hydraulic 
power,  so  the  introduction  of  the  latter  led  to  a  change  in  the  mining  ground. 

The  miners  were  now  able  and  they  even  preferred  to  attack  high  hills  of 
gravel,  which  afforded  them  an  immense  mass  of  auriferous  earth,  and  furnished 
profitable  employment  to  large  streams  of  water  for  months  or  even  years. 

Those  counties  which  contained  the  most  extensive  districts  Suitable  for  the 
application  of  hydraulic  power  were  the  most  prosperous,  while  the  towns 
dependent  on  river  mining  or  on  sliallow  placers  fell  into  decay,  and  were 
partially  and  in  some  cases  entirely  deserted. 

21.— DECLINE  OF  RIVER  MINING. 

From  1850  till  1856  river  mining  occupied  a  very  important  place  in  the 
industry  of  the  State.  The  beds  of  all  the  streams  in  the  auriferous  regions 
were  rich  in  gold,  which  could  only  be  obtained  by  taking  the  water  from  its 
natural  course  by  means  of  dams  and  ditches  or  flumes.  The  beds  being  deep, 
and  the  banks  steep,  rocky,  and  crooked,  these  enterprises  to  drain  the  rivers 
were  very  expensive,  and  they  were  also  very  dangerous  pecuniarily,  since  only 
a  brief  portion  of  the  year  was  suitable  for  the  work,  and  an  early  rain  might 
come  and  sweep  away  dam  and  flume  before  an  ounce  of  gold  had  been  obtained. 
The  comb  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  along  nearly  its  whole  length  rises  almost  to 
the  limits  of  perpetual  snow,  and  the  white  caps  do  not  disappear,  or  the  rivers 
reach  a  low  stage  until  late  in  the  summer,  so  that  three  months  may  be  consi- 
dered as  the  limit  of  the  period  in  which  a  river  could  be  flumed,  and  the  bed 
emptied  of  its  gold. 

Every  perennial  stream  of  much  note  in  the  auriferous  districts  has  been 
flumed  at  some  time  in  its  history,  but  within  the  last  seven  years  such  enter- 
prises have  become  rarities.  One  of  the  most  costly  and  most  remarkable  river 
flumes  in  the  State  was  erected  in  1857  to  drain  the  Feather  river  at  Oroville. 
It  was  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long  and  twenty  feet  wide ;  the  expenditures  of 
the  company  during  the  season  were  $176,985?  and  their  profits  $75,000. 
They  flumed  the  river  again  in  1858,  and  then  lost  $45,000. 

Since  that  year  no  extensive  fluming  enterprise  has  been  undertaken  in  any 
part  of  the  State,  and  the  little  work  done  in  the  beds  of  rivers  is  mostly  left 
to  Chinamen,  who  are  content  to  work  for  much  less  pay  than  white  men  expect 
for  their  labor. 

In  some  of  the  diggings  the  auriferous  clay  is  so  hard  and  tough  that  the  hy- 
draulic stream  and  sluice  are  unable  to  dissolve  it,  and  mills  have  been  built  to 


24  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

crush  it  fine,  so  that  the  water  in  the  sluice  can  get  an  opportunity  to  dissolve 
all  the  earthy  particles,  and  set  free  the  metal. 

The  "  cement  mills,"  as  they  are  called,  are  mostly  of  late  construction. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  Australia  was  made  in  1851,  by  a  miner  from  Cali- 
fornia, and  it  proved  to  be  equal  in  magnitude  to  thai;  in  our  own  State ;  and, 
singular  to  say,  it  attracted  little  attention,  and  drew  from  us  within  two  years 
only  about  a  thousand  of  our  residents,  while  many  thousands  were  ready  to 
rush  to  imaginary  diggings  in  other  directions. 

22.— "RUSHES"  TO  AUSTRALIA. 

Placer  mining  was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity  in  1852  and  1853.  Wages 
were  high,  employment  abundant  for  everybody  that  wished  to  hire  out,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  ground  that  would  pay  at  least  moderately  for  working 
with  the  rocker. 

But  the  rich  spots  were  few,  and  the  miners  who  had  shared  the  prosperity 
of  1849  were  longing  for  the  discovery  of  some  new  gold  field  that  would  again 
reward  them  with  an  ounce  a  day. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1853,  and  the  beginning  of  1854,  a  series  of  newspaper 
letters  and  articles  were  published,  asserting  that  there  were  very  rich  placers 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  Amazon,  in  Peru. 

These  articles  probably  came  from  the  same  source,  and  must  have  been 
jraiten  with  the  deliberate  purpose  of  throwing  trade  into  the  hands  of  a  few 
ship-owners  and  merchants. 

Whatever  the  design  of  the  writer  or  writers  may  have  been,  the  result  was 
that  two  thousand  miners  went  from  California  and  Australia  to  Peru,  where 
they  found  no  placers,  nor  could  they  learn  of  any  such  place  as  that  men- 
tioned in  the  articles. 

23.— THE  KERN  RIVER  EXCITEMENT. 

The  next  year  was  marked  by  a  greater  rush  to  Kern  river,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  State.  Some  small  placers  had  been  found  there,  and  they  served 
as  the  basis  or  the  suggestion  of  a  multitude  of  false  letters,  asserting  that  the  ba- 
sin of  Kern  river  was  as  rich  in  gold  as  those  of  the  American  and  Yuba  rivers 
had  been  in  1849.  These  statements  were  copied  into  the  newspapers,  which 
had  no  means  of  verification,  and  the  entire  industry  of  the  State  was  thrown 
into  confusion.  Miners  abandoned  good  claims,  farm  laborers  and  clerks  left 
their  employers,  the  rate  of  wages  and  the  cost  of  mining  implements  rose  in 
the  market,  and  soon  six  or  eight  thousand  men  were  on  the  road  to  Kern  river, 
and  as  many  more  were  ready  to  start,  when  the  newspapers  began  to  show  the 
folly  of  such  a  rush  to  diggings  that  had  as  yet  produced  no  considerable  amount 
of  gold. 

The  tide  of  migration  was  arrested,  and  soon  it  turned  back,  the  disappointed 
adventurers  returning  with  'the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  every  river  between 
the  Mariposa  and  the  Feather,  even  after  seven  years'  working,  was  richer  than 
Kern  river  had  ever  been. 

24.— ANCIENT  RIVERS. 

• 

It  was  in  October,  1855,  that  a  very  remarkable  discovery  was  made  near 
Columbia,  in  Tuolumne  county. 

In  various  parts  of  the  State,  the  miners  in  following  up  rich  deposits  of  gold 
had  come  upon  what  appeared  to  be  the  channel  of  ancient  rivers,  which  had 
been  filled  up  and  covered  over  with  beds  of  clay  and  gravel  in  some  places  a 
thousand  feet  deep. 

The  high  banks,  the  bars,  the  bends,  the  rapids,  the  deep  places,  the  tribu- 


WEST   OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  25 

tary  gullies  and  brooks,  the  water-worn  gravel,  the  remains  of  fresh-water  mol- 
lusks,  the  flat  stones  pointing  down  stream,  the  heaps  of  giavel  formed  by  ed- 
dies, the  drift-wood,  and  the  deposit  of  coarse  gold  in  the  centre  and  deep  places 
of  the  channel — unmistakable  evidences  of  a  stream  that  had  existed  for  cen- 
turies— were  all  distinctly  recognizable. 

In  these  ancient  rivers  the  gold  was  distributed  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
those  of  the  present  geological  era,  but  in  greater  abundance  and  ^usually  in 
larger  particles,  as  though  it  had  not  been  subjected  to  so  much  wear. 

The  primeval  streams  were  intersected  in  places  by  water  courses  of  our  own 
day,  and  these  latter  were  usually  richer  just  below  the  points  of  intersection 
than  at  any  other  places. 

The  largest  and  most  noted  of  the  ancient  river  beds  yet  discovered  in  Cali- 
fornia, called  the  Blue  lead,  runs  nearly  through  the  middle  of  Sierra  and  Ne- 
vada counties,  has  a  width  varying  from  a  hundred  to  three  hundred  yards,  and 
has  been  traced  nearly  forty  miles. 

Its  course  is  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the  present  streams  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. The  amount  of  gold  taken  from  its  bed  has  never  been  ascertained, 
but  it  cannot  be  less  than  $25,000,000,  and  perhaps  twice  as  much. 

35.— THE  TUOLUMNE  TABLE  MOUNTAIN. 

The  traveller  in  the  mining  districts  frequently  sees  "  table  mountains  ;"  that 
is,  high  rocky  elevations,  with  flat  surfaces  and  steep  sides.  They  are  evidently 
remains  of  lava  floods,  from  which  the  earth,  by  which  they  were  once  sur- 
rounded, has  been  washed  away,  leaving1  the  basalt  towering  above  the  adja- 
cent country. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  table  mountains  is  in  Tuolumne  county,  through 
which  runs  the  Stanislaus  river,  and  with  the  same  general  course. 

Its  length,  with  its  bends,  is  about  thirty-five  miles,  its  height  from  three  hun- 
dred to  one  thousand  feet  above  the  clay  and  gravel  near  it,  and  its  width  from 
a  quarter  to  half  a  mile.  The  smoothness  of  its  surface,  the  gradual  inclina- 
tion to  the  westward,  the  basaltic  nature  of  the  rock,  its  proximity  to  a  centre 
of  great  volcanic  activity,  and  various  other  circumstances  which  cannot  be 
stated  here  in  detail,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  this  table  mountain  is  a  solid- 
ified bed  of  lava. 

Some  miners,  sinking  a  shaft  at  a  place  where  the  lava  had  been  carried 
away,  leaving  the  sandstone  or  gravel  under  it  bare,  found  gold,  and  some 
other  miners,  working  along  the  side  of  the  mountain,  found  a  rich  streak  of 
pay-dirt,  which  ran  down  in  a  deep  rocky  channel  obliquely  under  the  moun- 
tain. They  attempted  to  follow  it,  but  they  soon  met  a  body  of  water,  which 
they  could  neither  avoid  nor  pump  out.  This  put  them  on  nettles.  Further 
examination  showed  that  there  were  other  little  channels  running  under  the 
mountain  and  on  both  sides,  and  all  going  deeper  as  they  went  further  in,  and 
nearly  all  tending  westward,  with  a  course  oblique  to  that  of  the  mountain,  and 
all  containing  more  or  less  gold. 

There  must,  then,  be  an  ancient  river  bed  under  the  mountain.  This  opinion, 
advanced  by  a  few  men  without  education,  who  wished  to  induce  wealthy  men  to 
undertake  the  exploration  of  the  mountain  by  tunnels,  was  met  by  incredulity 
and  ridicule.  Nevertheless,  the  projectors  of  the  scheme  had  got  the  idea  fixed 
in  their  minds,  and  they  were  determined  to  see  what  the  mountain  was  made 
of.  The  storekeepers,  in  accordance  with  the  general  custom  of  assisting  in 
developing  the  resources  of  their  own  neighborhood,  willingly  trusted  them  for 
provisions,  tools,  and  clothes,  while  they  were  cutting  a  tunnel  to  reach  the  bed 
of  the  supposed  ancient  river. 

They  commenced  their  work  at  some  distance  from  the  basalt,  and  after  cut- 
ting through  clay  and  gravel  reached  a  slate  rock,  which  seemed  to  have  been  the  an- 


26  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

cient  bank,  and  then  they  came  to  a  bed  of  gravel  of  such  character  that  the 
theory  of  the  primeval  river  was  fully  established.  But  the  tunnel  was  not 
deep  enough. 

It  was  far  above  the  bed  rock,  and  the  water  stood,  as  before,  between  the 
miner  and  the  gold.  Months  of  labor  had  been  lost,  and  it  was  uncertain  whe- 
ther the  next  tunnel  would  strike  the  right  level,  nor  could  it  be  known  whether 
the  bed  WQuld  be  rich  enough  to  pay.  Nevertheless,  hope  and  confidence,  the 
chief  divinities  of  the  miner,  and  he  is  happy  in  their  smiles  even  when  priva- 
tion is  his  companion  and  when  experience  tells  him  that  no  gold  fortune  is  in 
store,  continued  to  sustain  him. 

The  Table  mountain  prospectors,  however,  had  reason  and  experience,  as  well 
as  hope  and  confidence,  to  cheer  them,  and  the  second  tunnel  was  undertaken 
with  the  encouragement  of  many  men  who  had  sneered  at  the  first.  The  right 
elevation  had  been  struck  this  time,  the  bottom  of  the  river  bed  was  reached 
and  was  drained  by  the  tunnel,  and  the  gravel  was  found  to  be  extremely  rich. 
Ten  feet  square  of  superficial  area  yielded  $100,000.  A  pint  of  gravel  not 
unfrequently  contained  a  pound  of  gold.  The  whole  mountain  was  soon 
claimed. 

The  State  echoed  with  the  discovery.  A  stream  of  lava  had  filled  up  the 
bed  of  an  ancient  river  for  thirty  miles,  and  in  the  course  of- ages  the  earth  and 
slate  that  once  formed  the  banks  were  washed  away,  leaving  the  basalt  to  mark 
the  position  of  the  golden  treasure.  Other  similar  deposits  were  found  else- 
where, and  other  explorations,  as  bold  in  their  conception  but  less  successful  or 
less  important  in  their  results,  were  undertaken  in  nearly  every  county. 

26.— THE  FRASER  FEVER. 

The  years  1856  and  1857  were  marked  by  no  peculiar  excitement  or  sudden 
change.  The  working  of  the  gullies  and  river  bars  and  beds  was  gradually  be- 
coming less  profitable  and  productive,  the  quartz  and  ditch  interests  continued 
to  grow  larger,  wages  kept  their  downward  tendency,  and  the  number  of  hired 
laborers  increased. 

In  1858  the  State  received  a  shock  that  was  felt  in  every  fibre  of  her  political 
and  industrial  organization.  Rich  diggings  were  found  in  the  spring  on  a  bar 
of  Fraser  river,  and  it  was  asserted  and  presumed  that  there  were  large  tracts  of 
excellent  placers  in  the  upper  basin  of  the  stream.  The  presumption  was  not 
without  its  foundation  in  experience  and  reason,  but  after  all  it  was  but  a  pre- 
sumption. 

The  miners,  however,  were  not  disposed  to  listen  to  any  doubts ;  they  were 
ready  to  sacrifice  everything  in  the  hope  of  finding  and  being  the  first  to  enjoy 
another  virgin  gold  field  like  that  of  California. 

In  the  course  of  four  months,  18,000  men,  nearly  one-sixth  of  all  the  voters 
in  the  State  went  to  Fraser  river,  and  many  thousands  of  others  were  preparing 
for  an  early  start.  The  confident  belief  prevailed  that  "  the  good  old  times  "  of 
'49  were  to  come  again. 

Servants  threw  up  their  positions ,  farmers  and  miners  left  their  valuable  prop- 
erty, wages  rose,  houses  and  land  fell  in  value,  and  many  persons  believed  that 
California  would  soon  be  left  without  a  tenth  part  of  her  population. 

All  this  excitement  was  made  before  any  gold  had  been  received  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  before  there  was  any  direct  and  trustworthy  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  paying  diggings  beyond  the  limits  of  a  few  bars,  which  could  not  give  occu- 
pation to  more  than  a  hundred  men. 

Suddenly,  and  with  no  material  addition  to  the  evidence,  the  conviction  burst 
on  the  people  that  Fraser  river  would  not  pay,  and  five-sixths  of  the  truant 
miners  had  returned  before  the  end  of  the  year. 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  27 


*  27.— DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COMSTOCK  LODE. 

A  party  of  emigrants  discovered  placer  diggings  on  Gold  canon,  a  little 
tributary  of  Carson  river,  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  in  1849,  and  a  permanent 
mining  camp  was  established  there  in  1852. 

It  was  observed  that  the  gold  contained  a  large  proportion  of  silver,  in  some 
claims  nearly  one-half  in  value,  but  this  fact  was  not  without  precedent  in  the 
placers  of  California,  and  was  regarded  simply  as  a  misfortune  for  the  miner,  who 
did  not  receive  more  than  $10  or  $12  an  ounce  for  his  dust,  while  that  obtained 
on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  usually  sold  for  $17  or  $18. 

The  Gold  canon  diggings  had  been  worked  for  seven  years,  and  gave  employ- 
ment to  about  fifty  men,  when,  in  the  .spring  of  1859,  the  miners,  following  up  a 
rich  streak  of  placer  gold,  came  upon  a  quartz  lode  in  the  place  now  known  as 
Gold  Hill. 

A  couple  of  months  later,  some  miners,  in  following  up  a  placer  lead  in  which 
the  gold  was  mixed  with  about  an  equal  weight  of  silver,  came  on  the  lode  from 
which  the  metal  had  been  washed  down.t 

They  were  working  here  in  a  rude  way,  with  no  idea  of  the  value  of  their 
claim,  when  James  Walsh,  an  intelligent  quartz  miner  from  Grass  valley,  passed 

*  The  credit  of  this  discovery  has  been  claimed  by  so  many  parties,  and  the  testimony  is  so 
conflicting,  that  I  am  induced  to  give  at  least  two  of  the  popular  versions.  Substantially 
they  agree  upon  the  main  points.  (See  section  4,  Resources  of  Nevada.) 

t  S.  H.  Marlette,  surveyor  general  of  Nevada,  in  his  annual  report  for  1865,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing history  of  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock  lode : 

"In  1852,  H.  B.  and  E.  A.  Grosch  or  Grosh,  sons  of  A.  B.  Grosh,  a  Universalist  clergyman 
of  considerable  note,  aud  editor  of  a  Universalist  paper  at  Utica,  New  York,  educated  me- 
tallurgists, came  to  the  then  Territory,  and  the  same  or  the  following  year  engaged  in  pla- 
cer mining  in  Gold  canon  near  the  site  of  Silver  City,  and  continued  thereuntil  1857,  when, 
so  far  as  I  can  learn,  they  first  discovered  silver  ore,  which  was  found  in  a  quartz  vein, 
probably  the  one  now  owned  by  the  Kossuth  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company,  on  which 
the  Grosh  brothers  had  a  location. 

"  Shortly  after  the  discovery,  in  the  same  year,  one  of  the  brothers  accidentally  wounded 
himself  with  a  pick,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  soon  died,  and  the  other  brother  went  to 
California,  where  he  died  early  in  1858,  which  probably  prevented  the  valuable  nature  of  their 
discovery  from  becoming  known.  In  the  mean  time  placer  mining  was  carried  on  to  consid- 
erable extent  in  various  localities,  principally  in  Gold  canon. 

''In  1857,  «Ipe  Kirby  and  others  commenced  placer  mining  in  Six  Mile  canon,  about  hall 
a  mile  below  where  the  Ophir  works  now  are,  and  worked  at  intervals  with  indifferent  suc- 
cess until  1859.  On  the  22d  day  of  February,  1858,  the  first  quartz  claim  was  located  in 


Kossuth  claim  as  upon  one  branch  of  the  Comstock,  which  may  not  be  impossible  in  case 
we  adopt  the  one  lode  system,  for  the  lode  is  about  one  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  and  its 
strike  would  take  it  to  the  eastern  slope  of  Mount  Davidson,  as  explorations  prove,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  the  Virginia  croppings  to  be  the  outcrop  of  the  western  portion  of  the  Com 
stock. 

"  The  discovery  of  rich  deposits  of  silver  ore  was  not  made  until  June,  1859,  when  Peter 
O'Reilly  and  Patrick  McLaughlin,  while  engaged  in  gold  washing  on  what  is  now  the 
ground  of  the  Ophir  Mining  Company,  and  near  the  south  line  of  the  Mexican  Company's 
claim,  uncovered  a  rich  vein  of  sulphuret  of  silver  in  an  excavation  made  for  the  purpose 
of  collecting  water  to  use  in  their  rockers  in  washing  for  gold.  This  discovery  being  on  ground 
claimed  at  the  time  by  Kirby  and  others,  Comstock  was  employed  to  purchase  their  claim, 
whereby  Comstock's  name  has  been  given  to  this  great  lode,  by  which  those  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  its  discovery  have  been  defrauded — a  transaction,  to  compare  small  things  with 
great,  as  discreditable  as  that  by  which  Arnericus  Vespucius  bestowed  his  name  upon  the 
western  continent,  an  honor  due  alone  to  the  great  Columbus. 

"  From  this  discovery  resulted  the  marvellous  growth  of  Nevada.  Immediately  the  lode 
was  claimed  for  miles ;  an  unparalleled  excitement  followed,  and  miners  and  capitalists 
came  in  great  numbers  to  reap  a  share  of  the  reported  wealth.  The  few  hardy  prospectors 
exploring  the  mountains  for  hidden  wealth  soon  counted  their  neighbors  by  thousands ; 
soon  walked  along  miles  of  busy  streets,  called  into  existence  by  the  throng  of  adventurers, 
and  soon  the  prospectors  were  ransacking  almost  every  part  of  the  (at  present)  State  of  Ne- 
vada in  search  of  silver  lodes." 


28  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

their  place  and  examined  their  mine.  His  attention  was  attracted  by  the  dark 
gray  stone  which  he  suspected  was  silver  ore,  and  as  an  assay  of  it  he  sent  a 
ton  and  a  half  of  it  to  San  Francisco,  where  it  was  sold  for  $3,000  per  ton. 
He  and  some  friends  then  bought  out  four  of  the  five  partners,  paying  $22,000 
for  four-fifths  of  1,800  feet,  or  at  the  rate  of  $14  per  foot. 

Some  shafts  sunk  on  the  vein  showed  that  the  gray  stone,  a  rich  sulphuret  of 
silver,  could  be  obtained  in  large  quantities.  The  lode  was  soon  claimed  as  far 
as  it  could  be  traced,  and  the  market  value  of  the  shares  rose  so  rapidly  that 
before  the  end  of  the  year  $1,000  a  foot  had  been  offered  for  a  portion  of  the 
lode. 

28.— THE  WASHOE  EXCITEMENT. 

The  excitement  about  the  silver  mines  spread  throughout  California  in  the 
spring  of  1860,  and  thousands  of  miners  crossed  the  mountains  to  work  in  the 
newly-discovered  mines  or  to  seek  for  others. 

In  every  town  companies  were  formed  to  equip  and  send  out  prospectors,  and 
the  work  was  continued  on  a  large  scale  for  three  years.  Thousands  of  square 
miles,  never  before  visited  by  white  men,  were  explored  and  examined,  and 
many  thousands  of  metalliferous  lodes  were  found  and  claimed. 

It  was  in  1860  that  the  silver  districts  of  Esmeralda,  Bodie,  Potosi,  Coso, 
and  Humboldt  were  discovered,  besides  many  others  of  less  note.  The  chief 
silver  mining  town  grew  up  at  the  Comstock  lode,  and  was  soon  the  home  of  a 
large  and  excited  population.  Every  man  owned  thousands  of  feet  of  argentif- 
erous lodes,  and  considered  himself  either  possessed  of  a  fortune  or  certain 
of  soon  acquiring  one. 

The  confidence  in  the  almost  boundless  wealth  of  the  country  was  universal, 
but  many  were  bothered  to  convert  their  ore  into  ready  cash.  Men  who  con- 
sidered themselves  millionaires  had  sometimes  not  enough  money  to  pay  for  a 
dinner,  and  in  their  dress  they  looked  like  beggars.* 

*  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  at  Virginia,  in  April,  1 860,  gives  a  vivid  pic- 
ture of  the  condition  of  society  there  at  that  time  : 

"Of  a  certainty,  right  here,  is  Bedlam  broke  loose.  One  cannot  help  thinking,  as  he 
passes  through  the  streets,  that  all  the  insane  geologists  extant  have  been  corraled  at  this 
place.  Most  vehement  is  the  excitement.  I  have  never  seen  men  act  thus  elsewhere.  Not 
even  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  California  gold  movement  were  they  so  delirious  about  the 
business  of  metalliferous  discovery.  Hundreds  and  thousands  are  now  here,  who,  feeling 
that  they  may  never  have  another  chance  to  make  a  speedy  fortune,  are  resolved  this  shall 
not  pass  unimproved.  They  act  with  all  the  concentrated  energy  of  those  having  the  issues 
of  life  and  death  before  them.  They  demean  themselves  not  like  rational  beings  any  more. 
Even  the  common  modes  of  salutation  are  changed.  Men,  on  meeting,  do  not  inquire  after 
each  other's  health,  but  after  their  claims.  They  do  not  remark  about  the  weather,  bad  as  it 
is,  but  about  out-croppings,  assays,  sulphurets,  &c.  They  do  not  extend  their  hands  in 
token  of  friendship  on  approaching,  but  pluck  from  their  well  filled  pockets  a  bit  of  rock, 
and,  presenting  it,  mutually  inquire  what  they  think  of  its  looks.  During  the  day  they 
stand  apart,  talking  in  couples,  pointing  mysteriously  hither  and  you :  and  during  the 
night  mutter  in  their  sleep  of  claims  and  dips  and  strikes,  showing  that  their  broken 
thoughts  are  still  occupied  with  the  all-absorbing  subject.  I  shall  be  able  to  convey  to  your 
readers  some  idea  of  the  intensity  of  this  mining  mania,  when  I  assure  them  that  this  por- 
tion of  the  American  people  do  not  even  ask  after  newspapers,  nor  engage  in  the  discussion 
of  politics.  Little  care  they  whom  you  choose  President ;  conventions  and  elections,  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars,  are  nothing  to  them.  They  have  their  own  world  here.  Here,  bounded 
by  the  Sierra  and  the  mountains  of  Utah,  spread  over  the  foot-hills  and  the  deserts,  is  a 
theatre  beyond  which  their  thoughts  are  not  permitted  to  roam  ;  to  this  their  aspirations  and 
aims  are  all  confined.  Whatever  of  energy,  ambition,  and  desire  are  elsewhere  expended  on 
love,  war,  politics,  and  religion,  are  here  all  devoted  to  this  single  pursuit  of  rinding,  buy- 
ing, selling,  and  trading  in  mines  of  silver  and  gold.  Everybody  makes  haste  to  be  rich  ; 
and  so  great  is  the  mental  tension  in  this  direction,  that  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether, 
if  a  sweeping  disappointment  should  overtake  them,  many  will  not  be  reduced  to  a  condition 
of  absolute  lunacy.  What  guarantee  this  wildly-excited  multitude  have  against  the  happen- 
ing of  this  fearful  contingency,  I  am  not  fully  prepared  to  say,  having,  as  yet,  not  been  able 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  29 


29.— THE  BAEREL  AND  YARD  PROCESSES. 

There  was  much  difficulty  in  extracting  the  metal  even  from  the  richest'ore. 
There  were  no  mills  to  crush  the  rock,  no  skilful  metallurgists  to  reduce  the  ore, 
and  no  confident  opinion  in  regard  to  the  best  means  of  extraction.  The  simple 
processes  used  for  reducing  auriferous  quartz  would  not  suffice.  The  gold 
exists  in  the  metallic  form,  and  so  soon  as  the  rock  is  pulverized  can  be  obtained 
by  washing  or  amalgamation.  But  silver  is  in  chemical  combination  with 
baser  substances,  and  must  be  separated  from  them  by  chemical  influences  before 
the  metal  will  submit  to  unite  with  quicksilver,  by  which  it  must  usually  be 
caught. 

All  the  silver  produced  in  civilized  countries  was  obtained  by  two  processes, 
the  Frieberg.  German  barrel,  and  the  Mexican  yard  or  patio.  In  the  German 
process  three  hundred  pounds  of  the  ore,  finely  pulverized,  are  mixed  with 
water  to  the  thickness  of  cream,  and  after  the  addition  of  some  salt,  iron  pyrites, 
scraps  of  iron,  and  quicksilver  are  put  into  a  strong  barrel,  and  kept  revolving 
rapidly  for  fourteen  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  silver  and  quicksilver 
have  united,  and  they  can  easily  be  separated  from  the  mud  by  washing.  The 
barrels  are  rapidly  worn  out,  the  amount  of  work  done  is  little,  and  the  labor 
required  is  much.  In  the  Mexican  process  the  pulverized  ore  is  mixed  with 
water,  salt,  iron  pyrites,  and  quicksilver,  and  left  out  in  an  open  yard  for  three 
weeks,  the  mass  being  stirred  or  trodden  with  mules  occasionally.  This  mode 
of  reducing  is  very  slow,  and  is  unsuited  to  the  cool  climate  of  Nevada,  in  lati- 
tude 38°,  and  at  an  elevation  of  5,000  or  6,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

30.— THE  PAN  PROCESS. 

There  was  a  general  belief  that  some  mode  of  amalgamation  better  than  either 
of  these  could  and  would  be  devised,  so  while  one  set  of  men  were  engaged  in 
hunting  and  opening  mines,  another  set  were  busy  in  studying  a  mode  for  re- 
ducing the  ores.  A  satisfactory  result  was  not  reached  for  several  years,  but  it 
came  at  last  in  the  invention  of  the  pan  process,  as  distinguished  from  the  barrel 
and  yard  processes. 

The  pan  is  of  cast-iron,  about  five  feet  in  diameter  and  eighteen  inches  deep. 

Five  hundred  or  a  thousand  pounds  of  ore  are  put  in  with  salt,  iron  pyrites, 
quicksilver,  and  enough  water  to  make  a  thin  mud.  A  muller  revolves  on  the 
bottom  of  the  pan,  and  serves  to  grind  the  matter,  which  is  not  fine  enough,  and 
also  brings  all  the  particles  of  the  ore  into  contact  with  the  chemicals  and  the 
quicksilver.  Besides  the  motion  of  the  muller,  various  devices  are  used  to  keep 
up  a  regular  current,  so  that  all  portions  of  the  mixture  are  successively  brought 
to  the  bottom,  and  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  quicksilver.  In  some  pans  heat 
is  applied.  The  American  process  extracts  silver  from  the  common  sulphuret 
ore  as  thoroughly  as  any  other  process,  with  much  more  rapidity,  and  with  less 
expense.  It  is,  therefore,  in  almost  universal  use  in  the  American  silver  mines 
of  the  Pacific  slope,  and  has  been  introduced  into  Mexico,  where  it  will  prob- 
ably in  time  supersede  the  yard  process.  While  the  metallurgists  were  work- 
ing away  at  their  pans,  the  miners  generally  were  afraid  to  erect  mills  lest 
buildings  and  machinery  might  be  unsuited  to  the  new  modes  of  working. 

The  mills  that  were  built  charged  $50  and  $60  per  ton  for  crushing  and 

to  give  the  subject  much  examination  since  my  return.  To  attempt  eliciting  information 
from  those  now  here,  only  tends  to  confuse  and  complicate  what  is  already  incomprehensi- 
ble. If  you  talk  with  one  man,  he  is  only  concerned  lest  the  argentiferous  metal  be  ren- 
dered worthless  by  the  superabundance  here  met  with ;  while  another,  with  equal  opportu- 
nities, and  perhaps  better  ability  for  forming  a  correct  judgment,  derides  the  idea  of  there 
being  any  silver  apart  from  the  Comstock  vein,  telling  you  that  the  whole  thing  is  an  in- 
verted pyramid,  having  that  truly  wonderful  lead  for  a  base." 


30  RESOURCES   OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

amalgamating,  though  the  same  work  was  done  at  Grass  Valley,  only  one  hun- 
dred miles  distant,  for  less  than  $5  a  ton. 

The  amalgamation  was  so  conducted  that  only  the  free  gold  was  saved.  All 
the  silver  and  much  of  the  gold  were  lost.  Ore  that  contained  $500  to  the  ton 
was  sent  to  the  mill  if  it  yielded  $70  or  $80,  leaving  about  $10  profit,  and  a  loss 
of  $400  of  silver. 

The  value  of  the  ore  and  the  amount  of  silver  lost  were  precisely  understood, 
but  there  was  no  remedy.  It  was  necessary  to  take  some  silver  from  the  mines 
at  any  sacrifice  to  keep  up  the  confidence  of  the  shareholders.  Although  the 
ore  in  sight  was  worth  millions,  the  bullion  sent  across  the  mountains  from 
Nevada  amounted  to  only  $90,897  in  1860. 

The  next  year,  however,  the  export  rose  to  $2,275,256 ;  in  1862  to  $6,247,074, 
and  in  1863  to  $12,486,238.  This  increased  rate  might  well  astonish  the  world, 
and  dazzle  people  in  the  vicinity. 

31.— GROWTH  OF  THE  WASHOE  EXCITEMENT. 

The  silver  excitement  which  pervaded  California  in  the  spring  of  1860  con- 
tinued to  increase  steadily  for  three  years. 

Washoe,  by  which  name  the  mining  region  near  the  Oomstock  lode  was  gen- 
erally known,  was  the  main  topic  of  conversation,  and  the  main  basis  of  specu- 
lation. Everybody  owned  shares  in  some  silver  mine.  High  prices  were  paid 
to  strangers  for  mines  at  places  of  which  the  purchaser  had  never  heard  until  a 
day  or  two  before  the  purchase.  .  Men  seemed  to  have  discarded  all  the  dic- 
tates of  prudence.  Their  judgment  was  overwhelmed  by  the  suddenly  acquired 
.  wealth  of  a  few  and  by  the  general  anxiety  of  the  many  to  buy  any  kind  of  sil- 
ver shares.  People  acted  as  though  there  were  so  many  rich  silver  mines  that 
men  who  had  been  searching  for  them  would  not  be  so  mean  as  to  offer  a  poor 
one  for  sale.  Three  thousand  silver  mining  companies  were  incorporated  in 
San  Francisco,  and  30,000  persons  purchased  stock  in  them.  The  nominal 
capital  was  $1,000,000,000,  but  their  actual  market  value  never  exceeded 
$60,000,000,  and  not  one  in  fifty  owned  a  claim  of  the  least  value.  And  yet 
the  organization  of  each  company  cost  $100  on  an  average,  and  that  money  had 
to  be  paid  by  somebody.  Although  the  mines  were  in  western  Utah,  which 
was  organized  afterwards  into  the  Territory  and  then  into  the  State  of  Nevada, 
the  shares  were  mostly  owned  in  San  Francisco,  and  that  place  was  the  centre 
of  speculation  and  excitement,  of  profit  and  loss.  On  every  side  were  to  be 
seen  men  who  had  made  independent  fortunes  in  stocks  within  a  few  months. 

The  share  in  the  leading  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  were  the  preferred 
security  for  loans  by  money  lenders  and  banks. 

The  shares,  or  feet,  as  they  were  more  commonly  called,  (for  in  most  of  the 
companies  a  share  represented  a  lineal  foot  lengthwise  on  the  vein,)  of  the  Com- 
stock claims  advanced  with  great  rapidity,  in  some  cases  as  much  as  $1,000  per 
month. 

A  foot  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine,  worth  $500  on  the  1st  of  March,  1862, 
was  sold  for  $1,000  in  June;  for  $1,550  in  August;  for  $2,500  in  September; 
for  $3,200  in  February,  1863;  for  $3,700  in  May;  for  $4,400  in  June,  and  for 
$5,600  in  July.  Other  claims  advanced  with  a  rapidity  less  rapid  but  scarcely 
less  startling.  In  the  middle  of  1863,  Savage  was  worth  $3,600  per  foot ;  Cen- 
tral $2,850;  Ophir  $2,550;  Hale  and  Norcross  $1,850;  California  $1,5 00  ;  Yellow 
Jacket  $1,150;  Crown  Point  $750;  Chollar  $900,  and  Potosi  $600. 

32.— VIRGINIA  CITY. 

Virginia  City,  the  centre  of  the  mining  industry,  rose  to  be  the  second  town 
west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  It  had  a  population  of  15,000,  and  the  assessed 
value  of  its  taxable  property  was  $11,000,000.  The  amouut  of  business  done 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  31 

was  twice  as  great  as  in  any  other  town  of  equal  size  in  the  United  States. 
And  well  might  the  town  be  large  and  busy.  It  produced  more  silver  within  a 
year  than  any  other  one  mining  district  of  equal  size  ever  did.  Neither  Potosi 
nor  Guanajuato  could  equal  it.  The  former  town  yielded  $10,000,000  annually 
for  a  time,  but  with  that  yield  supported  a  population  of  160,000.  In 
may  be  doubted  whether  any  town  of  15,000  persons  ever  before  produced  an 
average  of  $12,000,000  annually,  or  an  average  of  $800  to  the  person.  Well 
might  excitement  run  high,  and  money  be  flush. 

33. -THE  SILVER  PANIC. 

But  though  the  silver  yield  kept  up,  distrust  set  in,  and  prices  of  stocks 
commenced  to  foil  in  the  summer  of  1863.  The  people  began  to  count  up  how 
many  millions  they  had  paid  as  assessments  on  claims  that  had  been  worked 
for  years  and  had  never  yielded  a  cent.  Experts  from  other  silver  mining 
countries  said  that  no  rich  and  permanent  deposits  of  silver  had  been  opened, 
save  on  the  Comstock  lode,  and  that  the  management  of  the  mines  there  was 
grossly  wasteful. 

It  was  a  notorious  fact  that  many  companies  had  been  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  swindling  the  ignorant  by  selling  worthless  stock  to  them. 

Prices  declined  slowly  until  the  middle  of  the  next  year,  and  then  they  were 
attacked  by  a  panic  which  smote  hundreds  of  the  Washoe  speculators  with 
terror  and  bankruptcy.  Gould  &  Curry  fell  from  $5,600  to  $900  per  foot ;  Sav- 
age, from  $3,600  to  $750  ;  Ophir,  from  $2,550  to  $425 ;  California,  from  $1,500 
to  $21;  Hale  &  Norcross,  from  $1,850  to  $310,  and  others  in  like  proportion. 

The  wild-cat  or  baseless  speculations  were  swept  away. to  destruction  by  the 
thousand,  and  never  heard  of  more. 

The  dray-men,  the  hod-carriers,  the  mechanics,  the  clerks,  the  seamstresses, 
the  servant  girls,  who  had  cheerfully  paid  assessments  for  years,  in  the  confidence 
that  they  would  soon  have  a  handsome  income  from  their  silver  mines,  were  dis- 
enchanted. 

The  name  of  Washoe,  which  had  once  been  blessed,  was  now  accursed  by 
the  multitude,  though  still  a  source  of  profit  to  a  few. 

People  wondered  how  they  could  have  been  so  blind.  It  was  found  on  exami- 
nation that  the  most  deliberate  and  most  dishonest  deception  had  been  system- 
atically practiced  in  many  cases.  Most  of  the  mines  had  been  managed  not 
with  the  object  of  taking  silver  from  the  ore,  but  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
profit  by  the  sale  and  purchase  of  stocks. 

The  officers,  or  some  of  them,  combined  to  raise  or  depress  the  shares  as  suited 
their  schemes.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  instruct  the  miners  to  take  out  the 
richest  or  the  poorest  of  the  ore,  and  the  returns  of  the  mill  could  be  published 
as  a  fair  indication  of  the  value  of  all  the  ore  within  sight.* 

In  the  erection  of  buildings  the  financial  management  of  the- companies  was 
grossly  extravagant.  Money  was  thrown  about  almost  as  if  it  had  no  value. 
It  was  presumed  that  the  rich  and  extensive  deposits  found  near  the  surface, 
instead  of  being  exhausted,  would  become  still  richer  as  the  works  advanced 
in  depth.  The  ignorance  of  metallurgy  and  lack  of  experience  in  silver  mining 
led  to  many  costly  mistakes. 

Wages  much  higher  than  those  of  California  were  paid. 

*  We  find  the  following  paragraph  in  the  report  of  S.  H.  Marlette,  the  surveyor  general 
of  Nevada,  for  1865 : 

"  When  a  bulling  operation  was  in  progress  the  superintendent  would  write  glowing  let- 
ters ;  rich  rock,  selected  from  a  large  mass  of  poorer  material,  would  be  sent  to  mill ;  debts 
would  be  iucurred  to  be  paid  in  the  future,  and  large  dividends  would  be  declared. 

"If  a  '  bearing'  operation  was  in  contemplation,  the  rich  deposits  would  be  avoided;  the 
rock  sent  to  mill  would  prove  to  be  very  poor  ;  assessments  would  be  levied  to  pay  off  the 
debts  of  the  company ;  suits  would  be  commenced  against  it,  and  every  device  that  could 
discourage  stockholders  would  be  adopted." 


32  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

34.— LITIGATION  ABOUT  THE  COMSTOCK  MINES. 

The  overestimate  of  the  value  of  the  mines  was  one  of  the  causes  of  a  great 
litigation,  for  which  opportunities  were  given  by  the  careless  manner  in  which 
claim3  were  located,  recorded,  and  transferred  in  early  times.  The  lawyers 
-,-_&c-  fees  high  almost  beyond  example.  Witnesses  who  found  that  their 
testimony  was  necessary  in  important  suits  suddenly  had  business  in  the  eastern 
States,  or  in  some  other  remote  place,  and  could  not  be  persuaded  to  remain  till 
the  trial  unless  some  large  sums  of  money  were  paid  to  them. 

Subornation  of  perjury  became  a  profession  in  which  many  engaged.  So 
much  money  was  spent  in  a  law  suit  that  it  materially  affected  business. 

When  the  trial  of  the  suit  between  the  Ophir  and  the  Burning  Moscow  was 
transferred  from  Virginia  City  to  Aurora,  property  in  certain  parts  of  the  latter 
town  rose  fifty  per  cent.,  so  confident  were  the  residents  there  that  the  attend- 
ants at  the  court  would  be  numerous  and  flush  of  money.  In  several  cases  more 
money  was  spent  in  litigation  than  the  entire  mine  is  now  worth.  The  surveyor 
general  of  the  State,  in  his  report  for  the  year  1865,  says : 

"  I  have  understood  that  $1,300,000  have  been  expended  in  litigation  between 
the  Chollar  and  Potosi  companies,  and  $1,000,000  more  have  been  expended  in  the 
Ophir-Moscow  trials.  *  *  *  I  believe  one-fifth  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
Comstock  would  not  more  than  pay  the  expenses  of  litigating  the  title  thereto." 

The  yield  of  the  Comstock  lode,  up  to  the  date  of  that  report,  had  been  about 
$45,000,000  ;  so  Mr.  Marietta's  estimate  of  the  amount  spent  in  litigation  would 
be  $9,000,000,  and  four-fifths  of  this  was  expended  within  a  period  of  three  years. 

The  sum  paid  as  dividends  to  stockholders  in  many  permanent  mines  was 
less  than  that  expended  in  litigation. 

35.— THE  MANY-LODE  THEORY. 

One  of  the  main  sources  of  the  lawsuits  was  the  doubt  whether  the  Comstock 
lode  had  at  its  side  a  number  of  branches,  or  whether  it  was  one  of  a  series  of 
independent  and  parallel  lodes  within  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards.  At  the 
surface  several  seams  of  ore  were  perceptible,  and  the  first  claimants  had  taken 
the  seam  which  was  largest  and  lowest  on  the  hill,  and  they  asserted  that  the 
seams  above  were  mere  branches.  This  assertion,  however,  did  not  prevent 
others  from  claiming  the  upper  seams,  and  thus  arose  the  suits  between  the 
Ophir  and  the  Burning  Moscow,  that  between  the  Gould  &  Curry  and  the  North 
Potosi,  and  that  between  the  Potosi  and  the  Bajazet,  which  were  all  cases  of  much 
importance  in  their  day.  The  people  were  divided  between  the  one-lode  and 
the  many-lode  parties,  and  elections  turned  more  than  once  on  that  question. 
Most  of  the  stock  of  the  one-lode  companies  was  held  in  San  Francisco,  while  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  stockholders  of  the  many-lode  companies  were  residents  of 
Virginia  City,  so  it  was  argued  that  it  was  the  interest  of  Nevada  that  the  old 
companies  should  be  defeated.  But  the  latter  had  the  evidence  of  geology,  and 
what  was,  perhaps,  still  more  important,  the  money  on  their  side,  and  the  many- 
lode  theory  was  at  last  completely  overthrown,  but  not  until  after  a  struggle 
that  cost  years  of  time  and  millions  of  money.  The  Comstock  vein  has  a  dip 
of  45°  to  the  horizon,  and  while  it  was  in  the  process  of  formation  large  bodies 
of  porphyry  split  off  from  the  hanging  wall,  fell  down  into  the  vein  stone  and 
were  there  suspended,  leaving  a  seam  of  quartz  above  as  well  as  one  below. 
These  pieces  of  hanging  wall  are  usually  long,  narrow,  and  deep,  but  not  large 
enough  in  any  direction  to  make  two  lodes  out  of  one. 

36.— EXPENSES  INCREASING  WITH  THE  DEPTH. 

Another  source  of  disappointment  to  the  mining  companies  was  that  as  the 
works  advanced  in  depth  expenses  increased  in  an  unexpected  manner.  The 
immense  excavations  for  the  extraction  of  ore  required  vast  quantities  of  timber  ; 
as  the  forests  are  distant  and  transportation  dear,  the  mines  now  pay  three-quar- 
ters of  a  million  dollars  annually  for  timbering  alone. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  33 

The  water  increased,  and  powerful  engines,  consuming  much  wood,  were 
required  to  pump  constantly  at  an  expense  of  $100  per  day  to  each  of  half  a 
dozen  companies.  Foul  air  made  it  impossible  for  the  miners  to  work  rapidly 
in  the  deep  drifts,  and  ventilation  was  expensive.  These,  and  a  multitude  of 
other  considerations,  contributed  to  the  panic  and  kept  the  general  stock  market 
down. 

But  such  influences  could  not  entirely  govern  the  price  of  particular  stocks. 

Gould  &  Curry,  which  was  sold  for  $900  per  foot  in  July,  1864,  advanced 
to  32,000  in  April,  1S65,  and  fell  to  $600  in  October,  1866.  Savage  was  $2,000 
in  April,  1865,  and  $1,100  m  October,  1866.  Of  stocks,  which  were  not  no- 
ticed in  the  stock  boards  in  the  summer  of  1864,»Yellow  Jacket  rose  in  April, 
1865,  to  $2,590  per  foot,  and  was  sold  in  October,  1866,  for  $700;  Belcher, 
worth  $1,650  in  April,  1865,  was  offered  for  $95  in  October,  1866.  Alpha, 
worth  $2,100  in  April,  1865,  was  worth  only  $50  in  October,  1866,  and  Crown 
Point  fell  from  $1,225  in  April,  1865,  to  $900  in  October,  1866.  A  fall  of  fifty 
per  cent,  or  a  rise  of  two  hundred  per  cent,  in  the  market  value  of  a  large  mine 
within  the  space  of  six  months  has  occurred  in  more  than  two  score  cases  within 
the  last  five  years,  and  it  is  easily  understood  that  in  such  events  fortunes  are 
made  and  lost  with  great  rapidity. 

37.— SOME    CHARACTERISTICS   OF   ESMEEALDA,  HUMBOLDT,  AND   REESE 

RIVERS. 

The  stocks  in  all  the  other  districts  of  Neva.la  were  affected,  and,  it  might 
almost  be  said,  governed  by  the  influence  of  those  of  Virginia  City.  While 
shares  in  the  Comstock  lode  were  high,  so  were  those  in  mines  elsewhere.  At 
Esmeralda  large  masses  of  rich  ore  were  found  in  the  Wide  West  and  Real 
Del  Monte  mines,  and  the  price  of  their  stocks  rose  to  $400  per  foot ;  but  there, 
too,  litigation,  bad  management,  and  the  speedy  exhaustion  of  the  rich  deposits 
near  the  surface  were  followed  by  a  general  collapse. 

Esmeralda  district,  which  yielded  $500,000  annually  for  a  couple  of  years, 
seemed  to  have  been  worked  out,  and  all  the  explorations  undertaken  since 
1864  have  failed  to  show  anything  to  compare  with  the  ore  opened  in  1861  and 
1862. 

Several  other  districts  in  the  vicinity,  however,  were  found,  and  these  promised 
to  more  than  surpass  Esmeralda  in  its  best  days.  Humboldt  had  a  history 
somewhat  like  E^-meralda. 

A  large  body  of  rich  ore  in  the  Slieba  mines  brought  the  price  of  that  stock 
up  to  $400  per  foot,  but  they  contained  antimony,  and  could  not  be  reduced  with- 
out roasting,  and  the  expenses  of  reduction,  and  litigation  and  the  exhaustion 
of  the  rich  body  of  ore,  soon  left  the  company  insolvent;  and  since  then  the 
Humboldt  district  has  been  under  a  cloud,  although  many  of  the  veins  will  un- 
doubtedly prove  profitable  in  time. 

The  Ueese  River  mines,  discovered  in  June,  1862,  include  a  number  of  dis- 
tricts, in  which  a  great  variety  of  veins  and  ores  are  found.  The  development 
has  been  slow,  yet  it  is  the  opinion  of  intelligent  m  >n  who  have  examined  the 
lodes  that  several  of  them  will  take  a  high  place  in  the  production  of  silver 
after  a  few  years. 

The  last  of  the  silver  districts  of  Nevada  in  the  order  of  discovery  is  Pahran- 
agat,  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  State,  which  first  attracted  attention  in 
the  beginning  of  1866.  No  bullion  has  yet  been  extracted  there,  but  some  fine 
ore  has  been  found,  and  the  quantity  appears  to  be  considerable. 

33.— SUTRO  TUNNEL  PROJECT. 

In  1865  it  became  evident  that  if  the  mining  in  the  Comstock  mines  were  to 
be  continued  for  many  years,  it  would  be  profitable,  and  even  necessary,  to  have 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 3 


34  EESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

a  tunnel  to  drain  tlie  vein  to  a  depth  of  2,000  feet.  Of  the  continuation  of  the 
mining  there  could  be  no  reason  to  doubt. 

The  lode  has  the  main  geological  characteristics  which  mark  the  greatest 
silver-bearing  veins  of  Spanish  America.  It  is  a  fissure  vein  that  extends  across 
several  different  formations,  and  at  (he  richest  place  it  separates  two  different 
kinds  of  "  country"  rock.  It  is  of  great  length  and  great  width.  .  The  general 
thickness  and  dip  remain  about  the  same,  so  far  as  they  have  been  examined.  The 
walls  are  distinctly  marked.  The  inclination  is  about  45°  to  the  horizon. 
There  are  large  seams  of  clay-like  substances  along  ih«  sides,  as  though  the 
sides  had  rubbed  and  ground  part  of  the  vein-stone  to  powder.  Bodies  of  por- 
phyry, many  of  them  large  iiud  others  small,  are  found  in  the  vein-stone,  looking 
as  though  they  had  cracked  off  the  upper  or  hanging  wall  and  fallen  down. 

The  vein-stone,  so  far  as  traced,  is  about  the  same  in  all  places,  though  the 
color  varies  from  white  and  gray  to  brown.  The  ore  is  distributed  irregularly, 
being  found  in  some  places  in  large  masses  and  in  others  in  thin  seams.  The 
general  features  of  the  lode  are  like  those  other  great  argentiferous  veins,  and 
mining  geologists  say  that  the  class  are  inexhaustibly  rich  in  silver.  It  is  pre- 
t timed  that  they  are  rich  in  ore  far  beyond  any  depth  which  miners  can  reach.* 

*  39.— BARON   RICHTHOFEN'S   REPORT. 

Tbe  following1  is  a  quotation  from  "The  Comstock  Lode,  its  character  and  the  probable 
mode  of  its  continuance  in  depth.  By  Ferdinand  Baron  Richthofen,  Dr.  Phil.,  San  Francis- 
co, 1866:" 

"If  we  proceed  to  compare  the  Comstock  vein  with  those  "best  explored,  it  is  evident  that 
it  differs  in  nature  from  a  certain  class  of  narrow  veins,  winch,  as  those  of  Freiberg,  Knnigs- 
berg,  and  Chaiiarcillo,  in  Chili,  Pasco,  in  Peru,  Catorce,  in  Mexico,  and  Austin,  in  Nevada, 
fill  a  number  of  small  fissures,  which  are  either  parallel  or  intersect  each  other,  and  which 
exhibit  in  depth  nearly  the  same  character  and  richness  as  near  the  surface.     It  presents,  on 
.the  contrary,  all  the  characters  of  a  second  class  of  silver  veins,  which  are  prominent  on 
account  of  their  magnitude  and  unity,  and  exhibit,  wherever  they  occur,  one  great  mother 
vein,  or  lvcta  madre,1  surrounded,  in  most  instances,  by  some  smaller   veins  of  little  or   no 
importance.     To  this  class  belong  the  veins  of  Schemnitz  and  Felsobanya,  in  Hungary,  the 
Veta  Madre,  of  Guanajuato,  and  the  Veta  Grandre,  of  Zacatecas,  while  the  veins  of  Potosi, 
in  Peru,  and  the  Biscayna  of  Real  del  Monte,  in  Mexico,  have  to  be  referred  more  to  tins  than 
to  the  former  class.     Notwithstanding  their  small  number,  these  great  mother  veins  furnish 
by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  silver  produced  throughout  the  world.     They  resemble  each 
other  in  many  points.     All  of  them  fill  fissures  of  extraordinary  width  and  length,  and  appear 
to  be  of  very  recent  origin,  and  also  to  be  intimately  related  to  volcanic  rocks,  by  which  they 
are  accompanied.     Although  the  laws  which  govern  the  distribution  of  ore  differ  more  or  less 
for  each  vein,  yet  all  of  them  have  been  found  to  be  highly  metalliferous  to  whatever  depth 
explored ;  and  it  appears  that  nearly  an  equal  quantity  of  silver  is  with  most  of  them  contained 
in  each  level,  the  vein  of  Guanajuato  being  an  exception  to  this  rule.     It  maybe  inferred  that 
this  will  continue  to  be  the  case  to  an  indefinite  depth.     There  is,  however,  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  concentration  of  silver,  ores  of  extreme  richness  being  usually  accumulated  in  lim- 
ited bodies  in  the  upper  levels,  while  in  depth  similar  bodies  recur  greater  in  extent,  but  con- 
sisting of  lower  grades  of  ores.     This  is  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why,  on  all  the  veins 
mentioned,  mining  in  upper   levels  has  been  so   highly  remunerative  compared  with  the 
profits  derived  from  deep  working.     Each  ton  of  ore  costs  there  but  little  to  extract,  and  yields 
a  large  amount  of  metal,  while  raising  the  same  weight  from  greater  depth  is  more  expensive, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  smaller  amount  of  bullion  is  realized.     The  history  of  the  Mexican 
mines  is  the  best  illustration  of  these  relations.     In  former  centuries  counts  and  marquises  have 
been  made  by  the  king  of  Spain  whenever  fortune  enabled  a  single  individual  to  accumulate 
enormous  wealth  in  a  few  years.     Mining  then  was  confined  to  rich  ores  within  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  from  the  surface.     In  the  present  century,  since  greater  depths  have  been  reached, 
the  Spanish  crown,  if  it  hfd  still  the  sceptre  of  Mexico,  would  scarcely  have  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  bestowing  equal  honors  on  fortunate  mining  adventurers,  notwithstanding  the  un- 
abated enterprising  spirit  of  the  population  and' the  increased  facilities  of  raising  the  treasures. 
And  yet  the  production  of  the  Mexican  mines. has  anything  but  decreased.     It  appears,  on 
the  contrary,  that  it  lias  never  been  so  high  as  at  the  present  time.     Humboldt  states  that 
vastly  the  majority  of  the  annual  production  of  Mexico  has  through  all  times  been  derived 
from  the  mother  veins  alluded  to  above,  and  still  at  this  day  they  furnish  at  least  three-fourths 
of  it,  though  each  of  them  has  repeatedly  been  abandoned  as  unprofitable.     They  would  be 
inexhaustible  sources  of  wealth  if  the  increase  of  expenses  attending  the  growing  depth  did 
not  put  a  limit  to  all  profitable  mining. 

"The  equality  of  produce  of  the  Mexican  mines  is  probably  partly  due  to  the  prevalence 
of  true  silver  ores  through  all  levels.    The  Hungarian  offer  less  favorable  conditions,  as  the 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  35 

The  water  which  gathers  in  mines  at  Virginia  City,  although  the  deepest  there 
is  not  half  so  deep  as  in  many  in  Mexico,  is  very  great,  and  a  tunnel  or  adit-level 
is  necessary  to  secure  drainage  and  vuutilation  and  procure  a  cheap  mode  of  ex- 
tracting the  ore  and  of  exploring  the  lode.  Fortunately  the  lode  is  situated  on 
a  mountain  side,  and  there  is  an  opportunity  of  draining  the  lode  to  a  depth  of 
two  thousand  feet  by  cutting  an  adit  three  and  three-fifths  miles.  The  expense 
will  be  several  millions  of  dollars,  but  the  saving  will  be  far  more.  Considera- 
tions like  these  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  which 
received  a  franchise  from  the  legislature  of  the  State  and  a  grant  of  land  from 

ores,  on  account  of  the  pieviously  mentioned  increase  of  lead  and  copper  in  depth,  undergo 
a  real  deterioration.  Yet  they  have  evidently  had  fit  upper  levels  their  concentrated  bodies 
of  rich  ore.  Such  have  been  extracted  at  Schemnitz  within  the  time  of  historical  record, 
while  their  former  existence  at  Felsobanya  may  be  inferred  from  the  shape  and  character  of 
the  old  Roman  works  near  the  oat-cropt>inga. 

"Lotus  now  return  to  the  Comstock  vein,  the  '  veto,  ntadrc'1  of  Washoe,  and  examine 
what  conclusions  as  to  its  future  we  are  justified  in  drawing  from  the  present  condition  of  the 
explorations.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  ores  through  all  the  levels 
explored  retain  their  character  of  true  silver  ores  which  they  had  near  the  surface.  The  amount 
of  lead,  copper,  iron,  and  zinc  has  never  been  large  in  the  Comstock  ores,  and  these  metals 
preserve  now,  at  the  lowest  level,  nearly  the  same  relative  proportion  as  formerly.  Their 
increase,  especially  of  lead,  would  be  the  most  unfavorable  indication  for  the  future  of  the 
Comstock  lode,  as,  besides  the  growing  difficulty  of  metallurgical  treatment,  the  conclusion 
would  be  justified  that  lead  ores  would  more  and  more  replace  those  of  silver,  and  the  limits 
of  profitable  productiveness  would  soon  be  reached.  But  as  it  is,  no  deterioration  is  to  be 
led,  even  it'an  impoverishment  takes  place.  It  thut-  approaches  in  its  ore-bearing  char- 
acter the  gre.-it  mutiu  r-veins  of  Mexico,  and  is  different  from  those  of  Hungary.  But  eveu 
the  reasons  fur  an  impoverishment  are  by  no  means  so  evident  as  might  appear  at  first  sight. 
There  have  been,  it  is  true,  bonanzas  near  the  surface,  which  surpassed  in  richness  all  those 
worked  upon  in  later  times.  As  such  may  be  mentioned  the  bonanzas  of  tho  Ophir,  the  Gould 
&  Curry,  and  the  western  body  of  ore  in  Gold  Bill.  Their  richness  and  the  facilities  of 
their  extraction  co-operated  in  making  the  latter  exceedingly  profitable.  Yet  the  production" 
of  the  Comstock  vein  did  not,  at  the  time  when  it  was  solely  derived  from  these  surface-bonan- 
zas, reach  the  figure  it  attained  after  the  exhaustion  of  their  principal  portion.  One  of  the 
reasons  is  that  then  the  ore  was  concentrated  within  narrow  limits,  while  as  the  greater  depth 
was  attained  the  distribution  of  the  ores  was  much  more  general,  though  their  standard  was 
lower.  New  bodies  of  ore  had  been  discovered,  commencing  at  a  depth  of  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  such  as  the  continuous  sheets  of  ore  in  tho 
eastern  part  of  the  lode  in  the  Gold  Hill  mines  and  the  Yellow  Jacket,  and  the  similar-con- 
stitited  one  in  Chollar-Potosi.  None  of  them  contain,  excepting  a  few  narrow  streaks  or 
bunches,  ores  of  equal  richness  with  those  of  which  the  surface-bonanzas  were  composed. 
But  their  extent  so  far  exceeds  that  of  the  latter  as  to  make  up,  by  the  increased  amount  of 
daily  extraction,  for  the  inferior  yield.  The  profits  of  working  are  of  course  greatly  dimin- 
ished. These  bodies  of  ore  have  continued  to  the  deepest  levels  reached  in  the  Comstock 
mines,  varying  in  width  and  extent,  and  also  in  their  yield.  The  latter  did  not  increase,  but 
in  some  instances,  as  in  the.  southern  part  of  Gold  Hill,  decreased  with  the  growing  width  of 
the  deposit,  while  in  others  no  material  change  is  perceptible. 

"Few  new  bodies  of  ore  made  their  appearance  below  the  level  of  three  hundred  feet. 
Foremost  in  importance  among  them  are  two  bodies  discovered  at  seven  hundred  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  Hale  &  Ncrcross  works,  one  of  which  is  on  ground  supposed  heretofore  to 
be  unproductive. 

"  Considering  these  facts  exhibited  by  the  Comstock  vein  itself,  and  comparing  with  them 
what  is  known  about  similar  argentiferous  veins,  we  believe  ourselves  •  to  be  justified  in 
drawing  the  following1  conclusions: 

"  1st.  That  the  continuity  of  the  ore-bearing  character  of  the  Comstock  lode  in  depth  must, 
notwithstanding  local  interruptions,  be  assumed  as  a  fact  of  equal  certainty  with  the  continuity 
of  the  vein  itself. 

"&3.  That  it  may  positively  be  assumed  that  the  ores  in  the  Comstock  lode  will  retain 
their  character  of  true  silver  ores  to  indefinite  depth. 

"3d.  That  it  is  highly  probable  that  extensive  bodies  of  ores  equal  in  richness  to  the  sur- 
face-bonanzas will  never  occur  in  depth. 

"4th.  That  an  increase  in  size  of  the  bodies  of  ore  in  depth  is  more  probable  than  a  de- 
crease, and  that  they  are  more  likely  to  increase  than  to  remain  of  the  same  size  as  heretofore. 

"5th.  That  a  considerable  portion  of  the  ore  will,  as  to  its  yield,  not  materially  differ  at  any 
depth  from  what  it  is  at  the  present  lower  levels,  while,  besides,  there  will  be  an  increasing 
bulk  of  lower-grade  ores.  We  are  led  to  this  supposition  by  the  similarity  in  character  of  all 
the  deposits  outside  of  the  rich  surface-bonanzas  and  the  homogeneous  nature  which  almost 
every  one  of  them  exhibits  throughout  its  entire  extent. 


36  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

Congress,  and  met  with  the  encouragement  of  the  great  companies  mining  on 
the  lode,  all  of  which  signed  contracts  with  the  company  binding  themselves  to 
pay  a  certain  sum  for  every  ton  taken  from  their  mines  after  the  completion  of 
the  tunnel.  Although  the  work  has  not  been  commenced,  the  project  has  fair 
prospects,  and  it  occupies  an  important  place  in  the  history  of  mining  in  Nevada. 
The  miners  at  Virginia  City  will  never  be  content  to  abandon  that  plan  of 


drainage. 


40.— COLUMBIA  BASIN  AND  CARIBOO  MINES. 


The  first  mines  in  what  is  now  Idaho  Territory  were  found  in  the  bars  of 
Clearwater  river  in  the  spring  of  1860,  and  those  of  the  Salmon  river  were 
opened  in  a  few  months  later.  The  placers  of  Boise  were  struck  in  1862,  those 
of  Owyhee  in  1863,  and  the  quartz  veins  of  Owyhee  and  Alturas  began  to  at- 
tract attention  in  1S64.  In  eastern  Oregon  the  placers  of  Powder  and  Burnt- 
rivers  were  discovered  in  1861,  and  those  of  John  Day's  river  in  the  following 
year. 

None  of  the  Idaho  or  Oregon  placers  have  proved  so  rich,  so  extensive,  or  so 
durable  as  those  of  California,  although  they  have  yielded  considerable  amounts 
of  gold.  The  deep  diggings  of  Cariboo,  500  miles  from  Victoria,  in  the  upper 
part  of  Eraser  valley,  were  discovered  in  1859,  and  the  placers  in  the  shallow 
bars  and  creeks  at  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  territory  of  British 
Columbia,  in  1865.  California  had  to  send  miners  to  all  these  places. 

The  number  who  went  to  Idaho  was,  probably,  20,000;  and  in  1866  at  least 
5,000  migrated  to  Montana. 

It  was  also  in  this  year  that  a  rumor  became  current  that  rich  placers  had 
been  discovered  at  Barbacoas,  in  New  Granada,  and  the  result  was  the  migra- 
tion and  bitter  disappointment  of  about  a  thousand  men,  who  found  nothing  to 
reward  their  trouble. 

"6th.  That  the  ore  will  shift  at  different  levels,  from  certain  portions  of  the  lode  to  others, 
a?  it  has  done  up  to  the  present  time.  More  equality  in  its  distribution  may,  however,  be  ex- 
pected below  the  junction  of  the  branches  radiating  toward  the  surface,  when  the  vein  will 
probably  fill  a  more  uniform  arid  more  regular  channel.  Some  mines  which  have  been  here- 
tofore almost  unproductive,  as  the  Central,  California,  Bullion,  and  others,  have  therefore 
good  chances  of  becoming1  metalliferous  in  depth.  But  throughout  the  extent  of  the  vein,  it 
is  most  likely  that  the  portion  which  lies  next  to  the  foot-wall  will  continue  unproductive,  as 
it  did  from  the  surface  down  to  the  lowest  wrorks,  while  the  entire  portion  between  it  and  the 
hanging  wall  must  be  considered  as  the  probable  future  source  of  ore.  As  remarked  in  the 
foregoing  pages,  it  is  also  probable  that  repeatedly,  in  following  the  lode  downward,  branches 
will  be  found  rising  from  its  main  body  vertically  into  the  hanging  wall  and  consisting  of 
clay  of  quartz.  Many  of  them  will  probably  be  ore-bearing.  Such  bodies  of  ore  should  be 
sought  for,  at  all  the  mines,  in  what  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the  eastern  country.  Expe- 
rience in  upper  levels  would  lead  to  the  supposition  that  such  eastern  bodies  might  carry  richer 
ores  than  the  average  of  the  main  portion  of  the  vein. 

"7th.  That  the  intervention  of  a  barren  zone,  as  is  reported  by  good  authorities  to  occur 
at  the  Veta  Madre  of  Guanajuato  at  the  depth  of  twelve  hundred  feet,  is  not  at  all  likely  to  be 
met  with  in  the  case  of  the  Comstqck  lode.  The  argument  which  we  have  to  adduce  for  this 
conclusion  has  some  weight  from  a  geological  point  of  view.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
the  enclosing  rocks  have  usually  great  influence  on  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  ores  of 
certain  metals  in  mineral  veins,  and  that  a  rich  lode  passing  into  a  different  formation  fre- 
quently becomes  barren  or  poor.  At  the  Veta  Madre  of  Guanajuato  a  sudden  decrease  in  the 
yield  of  the  ore  at  the  depth  of  twelve  hundred  feet  attends  the  passage  of  the  lode  into  a  dif- 
ferent formation,  which  from  thence  continues  to  the  lowest  depth  attained.  No  such  change 
can  be  anticipated  for  the  Comstock  lode,  since  the  structure  of  the  country  seems  to  indicate 
the  continuity  of  the  enclosing  rocks  to  an  indefinite  depth. 

"  In  winding  up  these  considerations,  we  come  to  the  positive  conclusion  that  the  amount 
of  nearly  fifty  million  dollars,  which  have  been  extracted  from  the  Comstock  lode,  is  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  amount  of  silver  waiting  future  extraction  in  the  virgin  portions  of  the 
vein,  from  the  lowest  level  explored  down  to  indefinite  deptli ;  but  that,  from  analogy  with 
other  argentiferous  veins,  as  well  as  from  facts  observed  on  the  Comstock  lode,  the  diffusion 
of  the  silver  through  extensive  deposits  of  middle  and  low  grade  ores  is  far  more  probable 
than  its  accumulation  in  bodies  of  rich  ore." 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  37 

SECTION    2. 

GEOLOGICAL  FORMATION,  ETC.,  OF  PACIFIC  SLOPE. 

REPORT   OF.    MR.  WILLIAM   ASHBURNER,  MINING   ENGINEER,  MEMBER    OF   TPIE    STATE 
GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  &c. 

1.  Gold  mining  interest  of  California. — 2.   Characteristics  of  the  gold-belt. — 3.  Northern 
mining  districts. — 4.  Mining  in  the  sierras ;  mills,  expenses,  &c. 


1.— GOLD  MINING  INTEREST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  November  — ,  1866. 

In  accordance  with  the  request  you  made  me  some  time  since,  I  beg  leave  to 
submit  the  following  report  upon  the  present  condition  of  the  gold  mining  inter- 
est of  California,  so  far  as  it  can  be  ascertained.  The  absence  of  all  pfublished 
documents  of  a  reliable  nature,  with  the  exception  of  those  recently  issued  by 
the  geological  survey  of  the  State,  make  it  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  to 
arrive  at  results  which  shall  have  the  merit  of  being  perfectly  trustworthy,  and 
the  only  means  of  obtaining  them  is  by  personal  examination  by  competent  in- 
dividuals of  the  various  gold  fields  throughout  the  State.  Everybody  will  ac- 
knowledge that  accurate  statistics  of  the  results  obtained  throughout  the  exten- 
sive mineral  regions  of  the  United  States,  particularly  those  where  the  precious 
metals  are  found,  and  published  under  the  official  sanction  of  the  government, 
would  be  of  the  greatest  value.  If  properly  compiled  they  in  themselves  alone 
would  go  far  to  remove  the  great  ignorance  which  prevails  in  the  public  mind 
with  regard  to  many  important  facts  bearing  upon  the  question  of  mining,  and 
enable  people  to  judge  for  themselves  how  far  the  great  majority  of  those  wild 
assertions  which  are  so  frequently  made  by  amateur  visitors  and  newspaper 
correspondents  are  likely  to  be  true.  It  is  from  this  class  of  writers — who, 
from  their  education,  are  not  qualified  to  weigh  and  appreciate  the  value  of 
statements  made  to  them,  generally  by  interested  and  enthusiastic  persons — 
that  nearly  all  the  information  which  the  public  now  possesses  of  the  gold  and 
silver  mines  of  this  country  is  derived. 

It  is  universally  conceded  that  the  great  objection  to  mining  is  its  uncertainty, 
and  that,  while  in  some  cases  the  profits  are  large,  the  risks  are  more  than  pro- 
portionably  great,  and  the  cautious  capitalist  hesitates  before  embarking  upon  a 
mining  enterprise,  feeling  that  a  shroud  of  mystery  envelops  the  whole  ques- 
tion, and  that  he  may  be  placing  himself  blindfolded  in  the  hands  of  evil  and 
designing  persons. 

The  mineral  resources  of  many  of  the  States  have  been  under  scientific  inves- 
tigation since  1830 ;  but  it  was  in  1844  that  the  first  district  for  mining  other 
minerals  than  coal  and  iron  was  opened  up  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior. 
Then  followed  a  wild  excitement  in  mines,  which  seems  to  have  continued  pe- 
riodically since  that  time,  upon  the  discovery  of  new  and  valuable  mines.  In 
1863-'64  attention  was  particularly  directed  to  the  silver  and  gold  mines  of 
Nevada  and  Colorado.  No  statements  seemed  too  gross  to  be  made,  or  too  im- 
probable to  be  believed.  Tracts  in  the  midst  of  the  desert  covered  with  sage 
brush,  and  miles  distant  from  any  mineral-bearing  vein,  were  located,  companies 
formed,  prospectuses  issued,  and  considerable  sums  of  money  actually  expended 
in  search  of  mines  which  by  no  possibility  could  exist  in  such  places. 

A  thorough  survey  of  the  various  mining  districts  which  are  now  attracting 
so  much  attention  both  at  home  and  abroad  would  confer  incalculable  benefit  upon 
the  country  at  large,  and  every  means  should  be  employed  to  bring  before  the 
public  information  of  such  a  reliable  nature  that  the  capitalist  may  be  guided  in 
his  investments,  and  the  field  of  the  prospector  for  new  mines  be  restricted  to 


38  KESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

those  comparatively  limited  districts  where  there  is  any  chance  of  their  efforts 
being  successful.  Money  and  time  uselessly  expended  in  running,  prospecting, 
tunnels,  or  in  sinking  shafts  that  can  never  be  turned  to  any  account,  is  so 
much  loss  of  capital  and  labor  taken  from  the  productive  industry  of  the  country 
at  large.  It  was  estimated  that  in  1862-'63  there  were  some  30,000  persons 
in  this  State  and  on  its  immediate  borders  engaged  in  prospecting  for  gold,  sil- 
ver, and  copper;  and  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  not  even  one  per  cent,  of  the 
claims  discovered  by  those  persons  have  ever  proved  remunerative  to  those  who 
invested  money  in  their  development.  In  1S61-'G2  the  excitement  ran  high  on 
copper,  induced  by  the  discovery  of  the  Union  mine  in  Calaveras  county,  and  in 
a  few  months  the  Sierra  Nevada,  from  the  foot-hills  to  their  summits,  were  cov- 
ered with  miners  fruitlessly  occupied  in  attempting  to  discover  new  deposits? 
which  could  be  worked  with  a  profit.  A  few  months  of  scientific  labor  turned 
in  this  direction  would  have  shown  how  utterly  futile  the  efforts  of  most  of  them 
would  prove,  and  how  exceedingly  limited  in  wridth  is  the  copper-bearing  belt 
of  California. 

The  existence  of  gold  in  California  was  known  long  before  the  date  com- 
monly ascribed  for  its  discovery.  In  several  places  along  the  Coast  Ra;  ge  of 
mountains  between  Santa  Cruz  and  Los  Angeles  there  were  small,  inconsider- 
able "diggings"  which  were  worked  by  the  Mexicans,  and  some  of  them  are 
said  to  have  yielded  as  much  as  $6,000  per  annum,  which,  ai,  that  period,  was 
a  considerable  sum.  The  interest  which  is  attached  to  these  now  is  chiefly  his- 
torical, and  they  were  generally  abandoned  as  soon  as  the  more  extensive  de- 
posits which  lie  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  were  made  known. 

It  was  on  the  19th  of  January,  1848,*  that  the  first  gold  east  of  the  Coast 
Range  was  discovered  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  river,  at  a  place  now 
called  Coloma.  It  was  the  result  of  accident,  and  although  attempts  were  made 
to  preserve  the  fact  a  secret,  the  news  soon  spread  far  and  wide,  and  by  Jyly  of 
that  year  it  is  stated  that  the  number  of  persons  employed  on  the  American  river 
and  its  branches  were  as  many  as  four  thousand,  who  were  obtaining-  from 
$30,000  to  $40,000  a  day,  and  by  November  it  is  thought  that  from  four  to  five 
millions  of  dollars  had  been  already  extracted.  It  was  not  until  a  year  subse- 
quent to  this  discovery,  or  jn  the  spring  of  1849,  that  commenced  the  most  ex- 
tensive immigration  that  the  \vorld  has  ever  seen.  Adventurers  poured  into 
California  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe:  first  from  Mexico,  Chili,  and  Peru  ; 
then  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  China,  and  New  Holland;  lastly  from  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  During  the  six  months  between  the  first  of  July, 
1849,  and  the  first  of  January,  1850,  it  is  estimated  that  90,000  persons  arrived 
in  California  from  the  east  by  sea  or  across  the  plains,  and  that  one-fifth  of  them 
perished  by  disease  during  the  six  months  following  their  arrival,  such  were  the 
hardships  they  had  endured  arid  the  privations  to  which  they  were  subjected. 

The  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  soon  covered  with  explorers, 
who,  with  their  "  pans  "  upon  their  shoulders,  penetrated  every  ravine  or  gulch, 
"prospecting"  the  sands  and  washing  the  gravel  wherever  there  was  chance  of 
finding  the  precious  metal.  Mining  towns  sprang  up  with  almost  incredible 
rapidity,  and  for  several  years  they  presented  a  scene  of  busy  life.  But  the 
shallow  "diggings"  soon  became  exhausted,  and  in  1851  the  yield  of  gold  was 
higher  than  it  has  ever  been  since,  amounting  to  at  least  $65,000,000.  During 
the  last  four  years  California  has  produced  an  average  of  about  ^30,000,000 
per  annum  of  gold  from  the  mines  situated  within  her  borders.  At  least  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  total  production  reaches  San  Francisco  by  public  conveyance, 
and  by  some  it  is  considered  that  even  a  larger  proportion  is  transported  in  this 
manner.  In  order  to  arrive  at  the  present  production,  and  compare  it  with  what 
has  been  produced  in  former  years,  we  must  take  the  amount  of  uncoined  bul- 

*  History  of  California  by  Franklin  Tuthill,  p.  226. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


39 


lion  which  is  known  to  have  arrived  here  from  the  various  mining  districts,  and 
add  say  ten  per  cent,  for  that  brought  by  private  hands.  At  the  same  time  that 
this  means  is  far  from  affording  all  the  accuracy  desired,  it  will  give  a  closer 
approximation  to  the  truth  than  any  other. 

Referring  to  the  San  Francisco  Mercantile  Gazette,  which  obtains  and  pub- 
lishes regularly  the  amount  of  coin  and  bullion  received  in  San  Francisco  from 
all  sources,  we  find  that  the  receipts  of  uncoined  treasure  from  the  interior,  in- 
clusive of  that  from  Nevada,  have  been  as  follows  during  the  last  four  years  : 

Production  of  gold  from  California  during  tlie  last  four  years. 


1862. 


1863. 


1864. 


1865. 


From  the  northern  mines. 
From  the  southern  mines. 


$30. 948,  369 
!     6,601,509 


$33,936,771 
5,610,094 


$34,782,312 
5,  347, 778 


$36, 649,  337 
5,108,413 


Total  bullion  receipts 

Deduct  bullion  from  Nevada. 


Add  1 0  per  cent,  for  Arrivals  in  pri- 
vate hands 


:J7,  549,  878 
6,  000,  000 


39,546,865 
12,433,915 


40, 130,  090 
15, 900,  000 


41,757,750 
15, 800, 000 


31,549,878* 


27,112,950 
2,711,295 


24, 230, 090 
2, 423,  009 


25, 957, 750 
2, 595, 775 


34, 704, 866 


29, 824, 245 


26, 653, 099 


28,553,525 


Probable  production  for  1866,  based  upon  the  receipts  of  the  jirst  nine  months 

of  the  present  year. 

Northern  mines,  exclusive,  of  Nevada  bullion $19,719,900 

Southern  mines 3,385,0]  0 

23,104,910 
Add  10  percent,  for  arrivals  in  private  hands 2,310,491 

25,415,401 

If  we  compare  this  production  with  that  of  the  Australian  gold  fields  during 
the  last  three  years,  we  find  that  these  latter  have  produced  as  follows : 

1863 1,627,066  ounces. 

1864 : 1,545,450  ounces. 

1865 1,556,088  ounces. 

The  Australian  gold  is  of  remarkable  fineness,  averaging  about  T902oV'  an(^ 
worth,  consequently,  $19  04  an  ounce.  This  would  be,  in  our  currency,  as 
follows : 

1863 $30,984,336 

1864 29,425,368 

1865 29,627,916 

The  mineral  statistics  which  are  published  annually  by  the  colony  of  Victoria 
give  much  valuable  information  concerning  the  present  situation  of  the  gold 
mining  interest  in  Australia,  and  from  them  the  above  information  has  been 
gathered.  The  average  earnings  of  the  miners  in  this  colony  have  been  as 
follows  during  the  last  three  years  : 

Alluvial  miners.       •       Quartz  miners. 

1863 $487  45      $596  24  per  annum. 

1864 296  69      632  44  per  annum. 

1S65 323  32      491  36  per  annum. 


40  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

We  have  for  this  coast  no  statistics  which  will  enable  us  to  arrive  at  the 
average  earnings  of  the  miners  in  California  with  the  same  degree  of  accuracy, 
but  there  does  not  seem  any  reason  to  suppose  that  they  are  greater  here  than 
in  Australia. 

During  the  year  1864,  of  1,54/5,450  ounces  of  gold  exported  from  this  colony, 
about  one-third,  or  503,618  ounces,  were  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from 
the  quartz  mines.  This  proportion  of  two  to  one  must  be  very  nearly  the 
relation  which  the  gold  produced  from  the  placer  diggings  of  California  bears 
to  that  from  the  quartz  mines,  which  probably  does  not  exceed  $8,000,000  or 
$9,000,000  per  annum. 

2.— CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  GOLD  BELT. 

The  auriferous  belt  of  California  extends  from  the  Tejon  pass,  in  latitude  35°, 
to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  State,  or  for  a  distance  of  about  five  hundred 
miles.  The  principal  gold  fields,  however,  and  that  portion  of  the  State  which 
has  produced  most  largely,  lies  between  about  latitude  37°  and  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Feather  river,  or  over  a  distance  not  exceeding  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  Towards  the  south  this  gold-bearing  range  is  narrow,  rarely  exceeding 
twenty-five  miles  in  width.  As  we  proceed  north,  however,  it  widens  rapidly, 
and  along  the  Feather  and  Yuba  rivers  it  reaches  from  th*e  lower  foot-hills  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  to  the  central  axis  of  the  mountains,  or  over  a  width  of  fifty 
miles  from  east  to  west.  There  are  other  diggings  in  the  more  northern  part  of 
the  State,  bounded  by  the  Trinity,  Upper  Sacramento,  and  Klamath  rivers, 
which  at  one  time  were  valuable,  and  yielded  largely,  but  now  the  principal  in- 
terest attaches  to  those  deep  placers  lying  between  the  forks  of  the  Yuba,  those 
deposits  which  underlie  the  volcanic  formation  in  many  places  on  the  auriferous 
belt  as  far  south  as  Tuolurnnc  county — what  are  known  as  the  cement  diggings — 
and  the  quartz  mines  which  are  to  be  found  between  Tulare  county  on  the 
south  and  Plumas  county  on  the  north.  The  "  shallow  diggings,"  which  were 
formerly  so  immensely  rich,  and  which  attracted  the  first  attention  of  the  miner, 
are  now,  for  the  most  part,  hopelessly  exhausted ;  but,  notwithstanding  this, 
by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  the  total  gold  production  of  California  is  still 
derived  from  the  "  washings,"  hydraulic  and  others  ;  and  this  will  undoubtedly 
continue  to  be  the  case  until  those  immense  auriferous  deposits  lying  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  principally  in  Nevada  county,  are  exhausted.  No- 
thing but  an  accurate  survey  will  give  any  thing  like  an  approximation  as  to  the 
length  of  time  which  will  be  required  to  work  them  out  at  the  present  rate.  Now 
we  have  only  the  wildest  conjectures  and  statements,  the  result  of  hasty  exam- 
inations, as  to  their  extent  and  the  probable  amount  of  gold  contained  in  them. 
At  the  present  time,  about  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  gold  produced  from  the  mines 
of  California  is  derived  from  those  lying  north  of  the  Mokelumne  river,  and  the 
production  from  the  southern  mines,  or  those  situated  between  Mariposa  and 
Calaveras  counties,  is  decreasing  every  year.  Probably  only  about  one-third 
of  the  gold  productions  of  California  comes  from  the  quartz  mines,  leaving  two- 
thirds  to  be  furnished  by  the  placer  and  cement  diggings,  or  those  sources  of 
supply  other  than  veins.  Unfortunately,  too  little  of  a  reliable  nature  is  now 
known  with  regard  to  these  latter  for  me  to  venture  upon  an  intelligent  expo- 
sition of  them;  but  enough  is  known  concerning  the  former  to  predict  that 
quartz  mining  will  continue  to  be  one  of  the  most  lasting,  as  well  as  profitable, 
interests  of  this  State,  and  there  now  seems  no  reason  to  anticipate  that  Cali- 
fornia will  cease  to  be  one  of  the  principal  gold-producing  countries  of  the  world 
for  many  years  to  come.  I  will  therefore  confine  myself  entirely  to  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  few  of  the  more  noted  quartz  mines  of  the  State,  showing,  when  it  is 
possible,  the  amount  of  profit  realized  from  the  working  of  the  quartz,  its  average 
yield,  the  expenses  attending  the  milling  and  mining,  and  giving  such  other 
facts  as  may  be  considered  as  illustrating  the  present  condition  of  4his  industry 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  41 

The  principal  quartz  mining  districts  of  California  are  in  Tulare  county,  about 
Clear  creek  ;  in  Mariposa  county,  on  the  Mariposa  estate  and  its  immediate 
neighborhood,  and  also  round  about  Centreville,  north  of  the  Merced  river;  in 
Tuolumne  county,  within  a  few  miles  of  Sonora,  at  Soulesbeyville,  and  near 
Jamestown  ;  in  Calaveras  county,  at  Angels  ;  in  Amador  county,  near  Jackson 
and  Sutter  creek  ;  in  El  Dorado  county  at  Logtown  and  vicinity  ;  in  Nevada 
county  at  Grass  valley  and  Nevada;  in  Sierra  county  within  a  few  miles  of 
Downieville ;  in  Plumas  county  at  Indian  valley  and  on  Jamieson  creek.  These 
localities  were  nearly  all  centres  of  placer  diggings  before  quartz  mining  became 
so  important. an  industry.  The  width  of  this  quartz-bearing  range  is,  however, 
much  narrower  than  that  occupied  by  the  placer  workings,  and  while  rarely  more 
than  twentv  miles  in  width,  is  generally  much  less. 

The  number  of  veins  in  this  belt  is  almost  innumerable,  but  the  proportion  of 
those  which  contain  gold  in  sufficient  quantity  to  pay  is  exceedingly  small. 

The  most  reliable  publication  which  has  recently  appeared  with  regard  to  the 
quartz  veins  of  California  was  issued  by  the  State  geological  survey  in  April, 
1866.  The  statistics  were  compiled  by  Mr.  A.  Rdrnond,  and  give  several  im- 
portant particulars  with  regard  to  the  mills  and  mines  in  the  region  between  the 
JMerced  and  Stanislaus  rivers.  The  district  embraced  by  this  report  is  about 
thirty  miles  long  by  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in  width.  Seventy-seven  mines  and 
sixty-five  mills  were  examined  and  reported  upon,  and  of  these  fifty-six  mines 
and  twenty-three  mills  were  being  worked  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Remond's  visit. 
So  far  as  the  mere  number  of  the  veins  is  concerned  this  region  probably  con- 
tains as  many  with  features  sufficiently  promising  to  warrant  exploration  as  any 
other  district  of  eo|ual  size  in  California.  The  actual  amount  of  capital  invested 
in  the  erection  of  the  mills  examined  has  been  $430,300,  and  in  addition  to  this 
a  considerable  sum  has  been  spent  in  the  construction  of  roads,  flumes,  and 
ditches,  and  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  this  whole  sum  has  been  expended 
since  1862,  particularly  in  the  years  1864-'65,  and  therefore  several  of  the 
mills  may  be  considered  as  experimental,  and  the  veins  upon  which  they  are 
situated  as  not  having  been  proved  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  state  whether  the 
yield  as  given  to  him  by  the  proprietor  will  be  lasting.  It  is  certain  that  the 
gross  production  of  this  region  from  the  quartz  mines  now  being  worked  is  not 
very  large,  nor  does  it  as  yet  compare  favorably  with  several  other  districts  not 
nearly  so  extensive.  The  greater  number  of  these  veins  vary  in  width  from  about 
one  foot  to  two  feet  six  inches,  while  in  one  case  there  is  a  vein  noted  which  is 
twenty-five  feet  in  width  and  another  fifteen  feet.  The  average  width  of  all  the 
veins  examined  would  appear  to  be  about  three  feet.  The  "  country  rock,"  or 
the  rock  in  which  the  quartz  veins  of  California  are  incased,  is  for  the  most  part 
either  slate,  granite,  or  greenstone,  and  it  is  not  yet  determined  which  of  these 
three  formations  can  be  regarded  as  furnishing  the  most  prolific  mines,  for  we 
have  in  each  of  them  veins  which  have  produced  largely,  and  still  are  continu- 
ing to  do  so,  though  several  of  them  have  attained  a  considerable  depth. 

In  Mariposa  county,  and  particularly  upon  the  Mariposa  estate,  the  most  noted 
veins  are  in  the  slate  and  have  a  direction  and  dip  nearly  coincident  with  the 
general  stratification  of  the  enclosing  rock.  The  principal  mine  in  the  district 
is  the  Princeton,  which  lias  produced  between  two  and  three  millions  of  dollars. 
It  was  first  worked  in  1852,  and  the  quartz  is  said  to  have  yielded  as  high  as 
seventy-five  dollars  per  ton  for  a  short  time,  but  this  large  return  was  probably 
owing  to  the  various  sulphurets  contained  in  the  quartz  and  associated  with  the 
gold  having  been  more  or  less  decomposed  near  the  surface  by  atmospheric 
agencies,  and  the  gold  liberated  by  this  means,  so  that  the  outcrops  of  the  vein 
were  far  above  the  average  richness  of  the  quartz.  Since  1861,  arid  until  within 
the  last  year,  the  rock  from  this  vein  has  yielded  an  average  of  $18  34  per  ton, 
while  the  expenses  of  mining  have  been  about  $6,  and  the  cost  of  milling  $3  25. 


42  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

This  would  show  a  profit  over  and  above  the  expenses  of  working  of  nearly  50 
per  cent. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1864  the  yield  of  the  quartz  from  this  mine  fell,  almost 
without  giving  any  warning,  from  $40  to  $6  per  ton,  and  for  some  time  ceased 
to  pay  expenses.  During  1865  the  yield  was  better,  but  it  is  still  far  from 
affording  as  satisfactory  results  as  in  former  years.  The  depth  of  the  main 
shaft  is  nearly  650  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  underground  workings  not  far 
from  1,400  feet.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  this  mine  is  exhausted,  and  that 
another  sinking  will  not  open  up  new  bodies  of  valuable  ore.  There  are  too 
many  examples  throughout  California  of  mines  falling  off  rapidly  in  their  yield, 
and  meeting  with  barren  zones  of  quartz,  both  in  depth  and 'on  the  longitudinal 
extension  of  the  vein,  for  any  one  to  state  positively  that  a  lode  which  possesses 
so  many  characteristics  of  permanence  as  the  Princeton  should  be  abandoned, 
and  that  it  will  never  again  prove  remunerative  as  in  past  years. 

Near  the  northern  end  of  the  Mariposa  estate  are  two  mines  known  as  the 
"Pine  Tree"  and  "Josephine,"  which  have  been  worked  for  nearly  sixteen 
years.  When  this  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  General  Fremont  these 
mines  were  considered  as  being  among  the  richest  as  well  as  most  reliable  in 
California,  and  it  is  perhaps  to  be  regretted  that  the  anticipations  formed  at  that 
time  have  never  been  realized,  for  it  is  mainly  owing  to  their  failure  that  so 
much  discredit  has  been  cast  upon  the  quartz  mining  interest  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  These  two  mines  are  situated  in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  and 
although  they  have  never  .been  connected  by  underground  workings  they  prob- 
ably are  upon  one  and  the  same  vein.  The  Pine  Tree  vein  has  a  direction 
nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  slates  in  which  it  is  encased,  or  about  northwest 
and  southeast,  while  the  Josephine  runs  more  nearly  east  and  west,  and  the 
axes  of  these  two  veins  would  form  at  their  junction  an  angle  of  about  forty 
degrees.  Work  is  just  now  abandoned  upon  this  latter  mine,  but  is  being  ac- 
tively prosecuted  on  the  former,  and  the  quartz  is  said  to  be  paying  better 
than  was  formerly  the  case,  owing  to  a  more  careful  selection  and  thorough 
metallurgical  treatment.  The  outcrops  of  these  veins  are  at  an  elevation  of 
about  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  Merced  river,  and  can  be  observed  from  a 
long  distance  to  the  north.  Neither  of  them  can  be  followed  or  traced  individu- 
ally for  any  great  distance  upon  the  surface  in  such  a  manner  as  to  preserve 
their  identity,  and  in  this  respect  they  in  nowise  differ  from  the  great  majority 
of  gold-bearing  veins  in  California.  In  fact,  the  experience  of  mining  in  this 
State  has  all  tended  to  prove  the  fact  that  the  longitudinal  extension  of  these 
veins  is  generally  very  limited,  and  that  the  metalliferous  portion  is  always 
considerably  less  in  length  than  that  of  the  quartz  itself.  This  remark  applies 
equally  to  the  niimerous  copper-bearing  veins  which  have  been  recently  dis- 
covered, some  few  of  which  are  valuable,  w^iile  their  "  extensions"  are  almost 
invariably  worthless. 

The  outcrop  of  these  mines  is  a  very  marked  and  noticeable  feature  in  the 
landscape.  They  form  part  of  what  is  known  as  the  great  quartz  vein  of 
California;  which  can  be  traced  by  its  prominent  outcrops  about  seventy  miles 
.  north  from  Mariposa  county,  in  nearly  a  straight  line,  continuing  through  Tuo- 
lumne,  Calaveras,  and  Amador.  It  cannot  be  proved  positively  that  this  is  one 
and  the  same  vein,  on  account  of  the  many  breaks  and  interruptions  which  oc- 
cur in  its  course,  but  certain  it  is  that  throughout  this  distance  it  preserves  its 
distinguishing  characteristics,  both  geologically  and  lithologically  in  a  most  re- 
markable manner.  It  furnishes  some  of  the  best  gold  mines  in  California,  which 
are  conspicuous  for  the  great  regularity  of  their  yield,  and  the  depth  which  they 
have  attained.  Along  its  course  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity  are  some  of  the 
most  extensive  placers,  which,  although  now  for  the  most  part  exhausted,  have 
in  times  gone  by  produced  so  largely  that  while  worked  they  were  regarded  as 
being  among  the  richest  deposits  in  California.  It  must  not  be  presumed  that 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  43 

tliis  great  vein  is  gold-bearing  throughout  its  whole  course,  or  that  even  a  nota- 
ble proportion  of  the  quartz  which  rises  .into  peaks  and  mountains  between 
Mariposa  and  Amador  counties  is  auriferous.  It  is  only  here  and  there  at  wide 
intervals  that  mines  can  be  found  which  can  be  worked  with  a  profit.  Mr.  Re- 
mond  enumerates  twenty  as  being  found  in  the  region  which  he  examined, 
many  of  which  are  undoubtedly  still  experimental  enterprises,  and  may  yet  be 
abandoned. 

The  yield  of  the  quartz  from  the  mines  situated  on  this  great  vein  is  gene- 
rally low  and  somewhat  under  the  average  of  the  Calif  >rnia  quartz,  but  the  gold- 
bearing  portion  of  the  vein  is  always  of  greater  width  than  elsewhere,  and  the 
quartz  can  be  mined  at  less  expense  than  in  those  veins  which  are  narrow  and 
encased  in  the  harder  varieties  of  metamorphic  rock. 

The  gross  production  of  the  Pine  Tree  and  Josephine  mines  has  been,  un- 
doubtedly, very  large,  though  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  state,  with  any  degree 
of  approximation,  what  it  was  previous  to  1860.  Since  June,  I860,  the  quartz 
from  these  two  mines  lias  been  treated  at  the  Benton  mills,  on  the  Merced  river, 
and  from  the  time  they  commenced  running  until  March  of  the  following  year  the 
gross  yield  was  about  $  1 55,000.  The  quartz  near  the  surface  paid  much  better  than 
that  which  has  been  worked  at  the  Benton  mills.  Not  only  does  it  appear  to  have 
been  absolutely  somewhat  richer,  but,  owing  to  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphurets 
which  existed  in  the  Josephine,  rock  in  large  proportions,  it  lent  itself  to  a  more 
ready  amalgamation.  Also,  as  it  was  worked  in  a  ten-stamp  mill,  of  compara- 
tively email  capacity  to  the  Benton  mills,  which  have  sixty-four  stamps,  the 
miiiipg  superintendent  was  able  to  select  his  quartz  with  much  more  ease,  and 
send  only  the  better  quality  to  the  mill..  The  quartz  from  these  mines  in  1860 
averaged  about  $9  per  ton,  and  gradually  grew  poorer  as  the  richer  portions  of 
the  vein  were,  worked  out.  The  cost  of  mining,  milling,  and  transportation 
amounted  to  about  $5  50  per  ton.  This  amount  of  $9  per  ton  is  what  was 
actually  obtained  in  the  mill,  although  there  seems  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
much  more  gold  than  that  was  really  contained  in  the  quartz,  and,  in  fact,  more 
has  been  lost  and  allowed  to  run  to  waste  than  has  been  secured.  On  several 
occasions  attempts  have  been  made  to  ascertain  what  proportion  was  lost  and 
what  saved,  and  it  would  appear  that  in  the  case  of  this  quartz  not  more  than 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  gold  actually  contained  in  it  was  saved  in  the  process  of 
milling.  The  cause  of  this  appears  to  be  almost  entirely  owing  to  the  very  fine 
state  of  subdivision  in  which  it  exists,  for  very  few  specimens  show  any  gold 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Experiments  are  now  being  conducted  on  the  Mari- 
posa estate  which  seem  to  confirm  this  view,  for  on  treating  the  quartz  which 
formerly  only  returned  $10  or  $15  per  ton,  by  more  careful  methods  of  amal- 
gamation, it  has  been  made  to  yield  between  $40  and  $50.  It  is  not  to  be  presumed 
from  this  statement  that  all  the  vein  consists  of  quartz  of  this  richness;  but 
there  is  a  large  amount  which  will  certainly  yield,  by  improved  processes  of 
treatment,  much  more  than  it  has  ever  been  possible  to  obtain  from  it  by  the  ordi- 
nary rough  method. 

3.— NORTHERN  MINING  DISTRICTS. 

As  we  proceed  northward  from  Mariposa  county,  the  next  most  interesting 
mine  we  meet  with,  situated  upon  the  "Great  Vein,"  is  the  App,  near  James- 
town, a  few  miles  from  Soriora,  the  county  seat  of  Tuolumne.  This  mine  has 
been  worked  almost  uninterruptedly  for  nine  years.  The  average  yield  of  the 
quartz  has  been  at  the  rate  of  $  15  52  per  ton,  and  the  expenses  of  mining  and 
milling  have  not  exceeded  $7  47  per  ton.  The  yearly  yield  during  this  period 
has  varied  from  $13  26  to  $19  47  per  ton,  and  the  lowest  monthly  return  was 
at  the  rate  of  $12  15;  but  even  then  a  considerable  profit  was  realized  over  and 
above  the  expenses.  The  lower  works  of  this  mine  now  present  as  fine  an 


44  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

appearance  as  they  have  ever  done,  and  when  we  regard  the  length  of  time 
during  which  it  has  been  successfully  worked,  the  great  regularity  of  the  yield 
of  the  quartz,  and  the  various  characters  of  permanency  which  the  vein  pre- 
serves, we  have  strong  reasons  for  arguing  that  it  will  prove  as  persistent  in 
depth  as  almost  any  other  mine  in  California.  In  its  external  characters  the 
quartz  from  this  mine  resembles  very  much  that  taken  from  the  Pine  Tree  mine. 
The  greater  proportion,  however,  of  the  gold  which  it  contains  is  in  such  a  fine 
state  of  subdivision  that  it  rarely  happens  that  any  of  it  is  visible  to  the  naked 
eye,  and  undoubtedly  a  great  deal  escapes  amalgamation  and  is  lost.  By  more 
thorough  treatment  in  the  mill,  there  seems  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
yield  could  be  largely  increased.  Experiments  have  been  lately  instituted — and 
they  would  appear  to  confirm  this  statement — most  fully  showing  that  by  more 
careful  amalgamation  the  quartz,  in  some  instances,  can  be  made  to  yield  from 
50  per  cent,  to  140  per  cent,  more  gold  without  a  corresponding  increase 
in  the  expense  of  treatment.  Attention  is  now  being  given  to  this  important 
matter  throughout  California,  and  experiments  are  being  made  in  several  mills 
to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the  gold  is  lost  in  the  process  of  treatment,  and  how 
far  it  will  be  economical  to  erect  new  machinery  for  the  purpose  of  saving  it. 
The  gold  which  is  contained  in  the  auriferous  quartz  exists  either  in  such  minute 
particles  as  to  be  quite  invisible,  and  not  distinguishable  from  the  quartz  itself, 
else  in  pieces  of  larger  size,  which  can  be  readily  seen  and  separated  by  pul- 
verization and  washing,  or  by  the  simplest  forms  of  amalgamation,  or  else  com- 
bined, probably  mechanically,  with  the  sulphurets  of  iron,  zinc,  and*  lead.  In 
the  first  and  last  cases  it  is  amalgamated  with  great  difficulty,  and  it  rarely  hap- 
pens in  any  of  the  mills  of  California  that  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  the 
gold  is  saved.  When,  however,  it  is  in  the  state  of  free  gold,  as  in  the  second 
instance,  a  notable  proportion  is  secured  by  the  most  simple  methods,  and  it  is 
not  likely  that  additional  machinery  would  increase  the  yield  sufficiently  to  pay 
for  its  cost.  In  the  quartz  from  a  vein  upon  the  Mariposa  estate,  known  as  the 
"Mariposa,"  there  are  but  comparatively  few  sulphurets  present,  and  from 
repeated  assays  made  from  the  tailings  from  the  mill  it  would  appear  that 
almost  90  per  cent,  of  the  gold  contained  in  the  quartz  was  secured,  while  at 
the  Benton  mills,  working  upon  Pine  Tree  quartz,  only  between  30  or  40 
per  cent,  was  saved.  In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  show 
what  has  been  done  in  this  direction  in  other  countries,  and  how  far  it  is  possi- 
ble to  increase  the  yield  of  very  refractory  gold-bearing  ores  by  careful  working 
and  skilful  treatment.  One  of  the  oldest,  and,  when  we  consider  the  rebellious 
character  of  the  ores,  one  of  the  most  successful  gold  mines  in  the  world  is 
that  of  St.  John  Del  Key,  in  Brazil.  The  company  now  in  possession  has 
been  in  operation  thirty-six  years,  and  though,  like  nearly  every  other  mining 
compan}',  it  has  had  its  full  share  of  ups  and  downs,  the  general  results 
obtained  have  been  most  satisfactory  to  the  shareholders,  and  it  was  only 
through  the  most  careful,  economical  management  of  both  the  mining  and 
milling  departments  that  this  end  has  been  arrived  at.  There  is  no  quartz 
mine  in  California  which  has  ores  in  any  quantity  of  so  complex  a  nature  or 
of  so  difficult  a  treatment  as  those  of  St.  John  Del  Key.  They  consist  prin- 
cipally of  specular  iron  mixed  with  sulphuret  of  iron,  magnetic  pyrites  and 
quartz.  The  auriferous  mass  at  this  mine  is  about  forty-four  feet  in  width,  and, 
like  most  of  the  gold-bearing  veins  of  California,  dips  with  the  rocks  in  the 
vicinity  at  an  angle  of  about  45°  to  the  southeast.  * 

The  vertical  depth  upon  which  this  deposit  has  been  worked  is  now  1,068 
feet.  Before  the  present  company  came  into  possession  it  had  been  worked 
for  a  hundred  years,  and  was  considered  exhausted. 

A  recent  number  of  the  London  Mining  Journal  gives  some  interesting  details 

*  Whitney's  Metallic  Wealth  of  tlie  United  States,  p  1J2. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  45 

with  regard  to  the  present  financial  position  of  this  company,  and  as  these  favor- 
able results  were  only  obtained  by  economy  in  the  management  and  skilful 
treatment  of  the  ores,  which  yield  far  less  than  the  average  of  California  quartz, 
I  will  give  a  condensed  statement  of  their  operations  for  the  last  thirty-six  years. 
The  effective  capital  of  the  company  is  <£  129,000,  divided  into  1,100  shares,  and 
there  has  been  paid  in  dividends  d£756,245,  or  ,£68  15*.  per  share.  There  is  on 
hand  a  reserve  fund  of  c£41,506,  and  the  value  of  the  property  of  the  mine  is 
estimated  at  c£209,743,  showing  a  total  profit  during  the  thirty-six  years' work- 
ing of  <£  1,007, 494.  The  produce  of  the  mine  during  this  period  has  been 
,£2,902,480,  and  the  expenses  c£l, 894,986,  or  653  per  cent,  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts. The  average  yield  of  the  ore  raised  and  treated  has  been  at  the  rate  of 
4£  oitavas  per  ton  of  2,240  pounds.  This  is  equivalent  to  about  $S  50,  or 
$7  59  reduced  to  the  usual  Califorinia  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  The  yield  for  the 
last  three  years  has  been  as  follows  :  ' 

1863,  5,787  oitavas  per  ton,  at  $1  89  per  oitava,  $10  94;  1864,  4,827  oitavas 
per  ton,  at  $1  89  per  oitava,  $9  12 ;  1865,  5,479  oitavas  per  ton,  at  $1  89  per 
ton,  $10  36. 

During  this  period  of  the  total  amount  of  gold  contained  in  the  ore  there  was 
extracted  the  following  percentage  : 

1863,  72.35  per  cent. ;   1864,  75.52  per  cent. ;   1865,  77,95  per  cent. 

The  various  processes  heretofore  employed  in  California  for  amalgamating 
gold  have  been  of  the  simplest  possible  description,  and,  although  probably  in  a 
majority  of  instances  where  the  gold  was  clean,  free  and  uncombined  with  the 
sulphurets  of  iron,  lead,  copper,  and  zinc  with  which  it  is  so  frequently  associ- 
ated, these  methods  worked  well,  and  the  erection  of  expensive  machinery, 
which  would  necessitate  slower  working1,  would  not  be  warranted  by  the  facts 
of  the  case.  Yet  it  has  often  happened,  particularly  in  those  mines  situated 
upon  the  course  of  the  "  Great  Vein,"  that  quartz  which  has  been  known  to  con- 
tain gold  in  paying  quantities  has  not  yielded  when  treated  in  the  mill  more 
than  sufficient  to  pay  expenses,  and  sometimes  has  been  worked  at  a  loss.  This 
would  appear  to  be  chiefly  owing  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  apparatus  employed 
to  collect  and  save  the  gold,  which  may  have  been  in  a  very  fine  state  of  sub- 
division, or  coated  with  a  thin  film  of  oxide  of  iron  arising  from  the  decomposi- 
tion of  pyrites,  which  prevents  the  mercury  from  adhering  to  it  without  the  use 
of  more  vigorous  mechanical  or  chemical  means  than  are  usually  employed. 

At  and  near  Sutter  creek,  in  Amador  county,  there  are  several  very  excel- 
lent mines  situated  upon  the  course  of  the  "  Great  Vein."  The  most  noted  of 
these  is  that  belonging  to  Messrs.  Hay  ward  &  Co.,  and  known  as  the  Eureka. 
This  mine  has  been  worked  for  about  eleven  years,  and  has  produced  probably  nearly 
as  much  gold  as  any  other  in  California.  The  quartz  has  never  averaged  very 
high,  and  the  principal  production  has  been  from  ores  of  a  low  grade,  not  yield- 
ing probably  more  than  from  $10  to  $15  per  ton.  The  mine  is  situated  at  the 
junction  of  the  slates  and  greenstone,  the  hanging  or  eastern  wall  of  the  vein 
being  of  the  latter  material,  hard  and  compact,  while  the  foot-wall  is  of  a  dark 
and  soft  argillaceous  slate.  The  depth  of  the  lowest  workings  is  now  1,213  feet 
on  the  incline  of  the  vein,  which  makes  this  shaft  the  deepest  in  the  United 
States.  The  length  of  the  underground  workings  is  about  600  feet,  and  at  the 
north  and  south  extremities  the  vein  thins  out  rapidly.  The  richest  portion 
of  this  vein  appeared  to  be  at  a  depth  of  between  1,000  and  1,100  feet,  where 
the  quartz  is  said  to  have  yielded  nearly  $30  a  t-n.  The  great  depth  attained 
in  this  mine  shows  conclusively  that  we  cannot  draw  any  general  conclusions 
with  regard  to  exhaustion  of  quartz  veins  at  an  inconsiderable  depth.  It  is  true 
that  in  nearly  every  quartz  mine  of  California  the  outcrop  has  been  found  to  be 
much  richer  than  the  main  body  of  the  vein  at  even  a  short  distance  from  the 
surface,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  of  the  veins,  and  in  fact  a 
majority  of  them,  contained  gold  associated  with  various  mineral  sulphurets, 


IP 
46  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

which  were  decomposed  and  the  gold  infiltrated  down  for  some  distance  below 
the  suiface  of  the  ground,  causing  the  upper  portion  to  appear  abnormally  rich. 
Thus  the  gold  contained  in  the  first  few  feet  of  the  vein  may  be  the  result  of 
the  degradation  of  many  tons  of  quartz  ajpd  the  decomposition  of  a  large  quan- 
tity of  sulphurets.  It  is  only  by  taking  the  results  afforded  by  the  treatment 
of  quartz  during  a  series  of  months  that  anything  like  a  correct  average  of  the 
value  of  the  ore  can  be  obtained,  and  although  this  Eureka  mine  has  probably 
yielded  as  regularly  as  any  other  prominent  mine  in  California,  it  has  been  sub- 
ject to  great  irregularities,  and  frequently  the  quartz  has  barely  paid  expenses. 
The  popular  idea  that  mineral -bearing  veins  grow  richer  as  they  are  worked 
upon  in  depth,  is  a  fallacy,  and  has  no  truth  either  in  theory  or  fact ;  nor  can 
we  say  that  true  veins,  as  distinct  from  veins  of  segregation  and  mineral  deposits, 
grow  poorer  as  we  proceed  downwards.  I  do  not  suppose  there  is  a  metalli- 
ferous vein  in  the  world  that  is  equally  rich  for  any  considerable  distance,  either 
lengthwise  or  up  and  down,  and  the  valuable  portion  is  almost  always  very 
limitel  in  extent  compared  with  the  main  body  of  the  vein.  Some  of  the  silver 
veins  of  Mexico,  which  have  produced  such  enormous  sums,  have  been  traced 
for  miles,  and  on  their  course  have  furnished  many  valuable  mines,  but  by  far 
the  greater  proportion  of  the  vein  has  been  barren  and  unproductive.  The  Oom- 
stock  vein  of  Nevada,  which  has  already  produced  upwards  of  $60,000,000 
worth  of  bullion,  has  been  productive  only  over  about  one-seventh  of  its  explored 
length. 

These  remarks  apply  with  great  force  to  the  gold  quartz  veins  of  this  coast. 
The  ore  exists  iii  bunches  or  else  in  shoots  or  chimneys  which  cut  the  axis  of 
the  vein  at  every  conceivable  angle  between  the  horizontal  and  the  vertical,  and 
these  are  always  less  than  the  length  of  the  vein  itself  and  sometimes  than  its 
width  also. 

It  frequently  happens,  that  these  ore-shoots  have  distinct  terminal  lines,  and 
in  these  cases  the  experienced  miner  is  enabled  to  select  his  ore  and  avoid  ex- 
tracting that  which  he  knows  is  too  poor  to  pay.  On  other  occasions,  however, 
it  would  appear  that  the  gold  is  distributed  without  any  regularity  and  appa- 
rently in  the  most  capricious  manner.  When  we  consider  the  richness  of  the 
veins,  the  length  of  time  that  some  of  the  mines  have  been  worked,  and  the 
amount  of  gold  annually  produced,  the  most  important  quartz  mining  region  of 
California  is  without  any  doubt  that  of  Grass  valley,  in  Nevada  county.  Here 
mines  have  been  worked  uninterruptedly  since  1851.  It  is  true  there  have  been 
periods  when  the  interest  jvas  more  than  usually  depressed  and  several  of  the 
mines,  which  are  now  regarded  as  being  among  the  best,  were  thought  to  be  ex- 
hausted, and  abandoned  for  the  time  being,  but  in  many  instances  when  work 
was  resumed  new  bodies  of  gold-bearing  quartz  were  opened  up  which  proved 
rich  and  valuable.  The  veins  in  this  district,  and  particularly  those  which  have 
been  the  most  productive,  are  noted  for  their  narrowness  as  well  as  for  the  rich- 
ness of  the  quartz.  They  are  incased  in  a  hard  metamorphic  rock,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  mining  are,  as  a  general  thing,  higher  here  than  anywhere  else  in 
California,  amounting,  as  they  do  in  some  instances,  to  from  $20  to  $26  per  ton. 
Within  the  last  fourteen  years  the  total  production  from  the  quartz  mines  of  the 
Grass  Valley  district  has  not  been  far  from  $23,000,000.  The  most  prolific 
vein  has  been  that  situated  upon  Massachusetts  and  Gold  Hill,  which  alone  has 
produced  more  than  $7,000,000  worth  of  gold  during  this  time  from  a  lode  which 
will  only  average  a  foot  or  fourteen  inches  in  width. 

The  "  Eureka"  is  another  prominent  and  leading  mine  in  this  vicinity.  One 
great  feature  of  interest  connected  with  it  is  the  gradual  improvement  of  the 
quartz  as  greater  depth  has  been  attained  upon  the  vein,  which  varies  in  width 
from  three  to  four  feet.  This  mine  was  first  worked  in  1854,  and  more  or  less 
ever  since  that  period.  About  one  year  ago  the  property  changed  hands,  and 
since  that  time  the  yield  of  the  mine  has  been  greater  than  at  any  previous 


WEST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  47 

time.  When  this  vein  was.  first  worked  and  down  to  a  depth  of  about  thirty- 
five  feet  from  the  surface,  the  yield  of  the  quartz  was  from  $6  to  $12  per 
ton,  which  but  little  more  than  paid  expenses.  Below  this  level  the  value  of 
the  quartz  rapidly  increased  from  814  to  $21,  and  at  the  one  hundred  foot 
level  the  quartz  paid  at  the  rate  of  $28  ;  at  the  two  hundred  foot  level  the 
average  was  about  $37,  and  now,  between  the  second,  and  third  levels  or  three 
hundred  feet  from  the  surface  the  .average  yield  has  been  during  the  last  four 
months  at  the  rate  of  over  $60  per  ton.  The  quartz  contains  from  two  to 
three  per  cent,  of  sulplmrcts  of  iron,  which  are  said  to  assay  generally  about 
$300  per  ton,-  and  are  regarded  as  being  amang  the  richest  in  Grass  valley. 
These  sul,.hun.-rrf  are-worked  by  parties  in  the  neighborhood,  who  charge  $50 
per  ton  and  n:;uni  whatever  gold  id  extracted  to  the  proprietors  pf  the  mine. 
During  the  f'nur  months  which  preceded  the  first  of  October  the  mine  produced 
42,227  x- tons  of  quartz,  which  yielded  $255,072  55.  and  the  expenses  of  mining 
and  milling  were  $67,320  83,  leaving  as  profit  $187,751  72.  The  average 
yield  of  the  quartz  during  the  period  Avas  at  the  rate  of  $60  33  per  ton.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  year  the  amount  of  quartz  worked  was  11.375JJ  tons,  which  pro- 
duced $526,431  41,  at  an  expense  of  $168,389  23,  leaving  as  profit  for  the  whole 
year  $368,042  IS  The  average  yield  per  ton  was  $47  15,  and  the  average  cost 
of  mining  and  milling  was  $13  75,  leaving  a  profit  of  $33  40  per  ton. 

4.— MINING  IN  THE  SIERRAS;  MILLS,  EXPENSES,  &c. 

In  thus  dismissing  the  Grass  Valley  district  with  only  a  brief  description  of 
two  of  its  leading  mines,  I  do  not  intend  to  detract  at  all  from  its  past,  present, 
or  future  importance,  for  there  is  no  region  in  California,  or  probably  upon  the 
Pacific  coast,  where,  by  a  careful  study  of  the  numerous  veins  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, so  much  information  could  be  obtained  which  would  throw  light  upon 
the  vexed  questions  relating  to  gold  mining  and  the  metallurgical  treatment  o± 
the  quartz. 

As  we  proceed  north  from  Nevada  county,  the  next  most  important  quartz 
mining  district  is  in  the  mountainous  region  round  about  Downieville,  the  county 
seat  of  Sierra.  The  placer  mines  in  this  vicinity  have  been  exceedingly  rich, 
and  Fin-passed  only  by  those  in  Nevada  county  in  extent  and  permanence. 
Quartz  mining,  however,  has  received  but  comparatively  little  attention  until 
"within  the  last  few  years,  probably  owing  to  the  rugged  nature  of  the  country 
and  the  severity  of  the  climate  during  the  winter  months. 

The  most  noted  mine  in  this  county,  as  well  as  Uie  one  which  has  produced 
most  largely,  is  that  known  as  the  Sierra  Buttes.  This  mine  is  about  fourteen 
miles  from  Downieville,  at  an  elevation  of  probably  not  less  than  7,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  vein  is  enclosed  in  a  hard  metamorphic  slate,  and  varies 
in  width  from  six  to  thirty  feet.  In  the  process  of  working,  the  whole  thick- 
ness of  the  vein  is  not  removed,  and  the  richer  portions,  which  lie  next  the 
fool-wall,  are  sent  to  the  mill.  The  average  width  of  this  more  productive 
streak  is  about  twelve  feet.  The.  depth  upon  which  this  vein  has  been  worked 
is  not  far  from  750  feet,  and  the  quartz  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  mine  is  said 
to  pay  as  well  as  that  taken  from  the  upper  works.  Quartz  from- near  the  sur- 
face of  this  vein  was  worked  in  arrastras  as  early  as  1851,  but  the  first  mill  was 
erected  in  1853.  The  present  owners  have  been  in  possession  of  the  property 
since  1857,  and  the  yield  of  the  mine  has  been,  during  the  last  nine  years,  ap- 
proximately as  follows  : 

Gross  yield.  Expenses.  Profits. 

1857 $51,000  $15,000  $36,000 

1858 55,000  15,000  40,000 

1859 88  000  20,000  68,000 


48  EESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 


1880 

Gross  yield. 
$120  000 

Expenses. 
$37  000 

Profits. 
$83  000 

1861      

198  000 

4£  000 

150  000 

1862  

166,000 

54,000 

112,000 

1863  

156,000 

57,000 

99,000 

1864 

90  000 

75  000 

15  000 

1865..    .. 

196  000 

64  000 

13-\000 

1,120,000       385,000       735,000 


The  yield  of  the  quartz  varies  generally  from  $14  to  $17  per  ton,  and  the 
cause  of  the  falling  off'in  the  gross  product  during  1863-'64  was  the  great  scarcity 
of  water,  which  necessitated  the  erection  of  a  flume  at  an  expense  of  $40,000. 

The  principal  expenses  attending  the  working  of  auriferous  quartz  are  the 
cost  of  extracting  the  quartz  from  the  mine  and  its  subsequent  treatment  in  the 
mill.  With  regard  to  the  first  no  general  data  can  be  given,  for  the  amount 
paid  for  mining  varies  from  $1  50  to  $26  per  ton.  It  is  dependent  upon  the 
hardness  of  the  quartz  ;  the  hardness  of  the  country  rock  in  which  the  vein  is 
encased ;  the  relation  which  the  auriferous  portion  of  the  vein  bears  to  that 
which  is  barren  ;  the  depth  of  the  workings,  and  finally  the  amount  of  water  in 
the  mine,  and  whether  it  has  been  drained  by  adits  or  pumping.  As  a  general 
rule,  however,  it  may  be  assumed  that  in  the  case  of  large  veins,  or  those  which 
exceed  five  or  six  feet  in  width,  that  the  cost  of  extraction  will  be  from  $1  50 
to  $6,  arid  that  the  total  cost  of  mining  and  milling  will  not  be  more  than  $7 
or  $8  per  ton  under  any  circumstances. 

With  regard  to  the  milling  expense,  however,  we  have  accurate  data  to  fol- 
low, and  these  are  not  much  affected  by  change  of  locality. 

The  mills  are  generally  situated  in  close  proximity  to  the  mines,  for  the  differ- 
ence between  the  cost  of  running  a  steam  and  a  water  mill  is  almost  always  less 
than  the  cost  of  hauling  the  quartz  for  any  distance  by  teams.  The  mills  are 
of  nearly  ail  sizes  and  capacity,  and  vary  from  those  which  have  only  two  or 
three  stamps  to  those  which  have  forty-eight.  The  weight  of  these  stamps  is 
from  400  Ibs.  to  1,000  Ibs.,  and  they  are  run  at  a  velocity  varying  from  50  blows 
to  80  blows  per  minute  and  fall  from  10  to  14  inches.  The  favorite  weight 
would  appear  to  be  about  650  Ibs.,  with  a  fall  of  12  inches  and  a  velocity  of 
from  60  to  70  blows  per  minute.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  a  ten-stamp  mill, 
with  stamp  of  550  Ibs.,  falling^!  2  inches  and  striking  60  blows  a  minute,  will  crush 
12  J  tons  of  ordinary  quartz  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 

The  mills  which  are  moved  by  water  power  alone  are  situated  either  on  the 
banks  of  rivers  and  streams  where  the  water  is  free,  or  else  the  water  is  con- 
veyed to  them  by  a  flume  from  some  neighboring  ditch  and  sold  at  a  price 
which  is  generally  the  result  of  special  agreement. 

In  the  case  of  steam  mills  the  fuel  is  always  a  principal  item  of  expense. 
Wood — either  pine  or  oak — is  universally  employed,  and  costs  from  $2  to  $4  50 
and  even  $5  per  cord.  Oak,  when  the  two  can  be  obtained  and  are  equally 
convenient  of  access,  generally  costs  one-third  more  than  pine  and  is  regarded 
as  being  nearly  twice  as  valuable  for  steam  purposes.  The  mean  amount  of 
fuel  consumed  in  the  steam  quartz  mills  of  California  is  not  far  from  0.164  cord 
for  each  ton  stamped.  The  prices  paid  for  labor  in  the  mining  towns  is  still 
very  high,  and  in  many  cases  operates  as  an  effectual  barrier  to  the  working  of 
some  quartz  mines.  First  class  miners  receive  from  $3  to  $3  50,  and  in  some 
cases  as  high  as  $3  75  per  day,  while  ordinary  laborers  receive  from  $2  to  $2  50. 
In  the  milling  of  quartz  the  item  of  labor  is  generally  from  60  per  cent,  to  75 
per  cent,  of  the  total  expense.  In  mining  the  proportion  which  this  item  bears 
to  the  whole  cost  is  much  greater,  so  that  it  is  easy  to  perceive  to  what  an  ex- 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS,  49 

tent  a  reduction  of  wages  would  operate  in  favor  of  the  quartz  mining  interest 
of  this  coast. 

The  mercury  that  is  used  in  the  process  of  amalgamating  is  derived  entirely 
from  the  California  mines,  itnd  generally  costs  the  miner  about  sixty-five  cents 
per  pound ;  very  little,  however,  is  lost  in  the  mills  when  proper  care  is  observed, 
and  this  item  of  expense  is  insignificant,  for  it  rarely  exceeds  six  ounces  for  each 
ton  of  quartz  treated,  and  frequently  falls  below  this  amount. 

The  average  cost  of  milling  quartz  in  the  various  mills  of  California  may  be 
stated  as  follows : 

In  water  mills,  when  water  is  free $1  22  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds. 

In  water  mills,  when  water  is  purchased 1  60  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds. 

In  steam  mills 2  14  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  state,  even  approximately,  what  is  the  present  average 
yield  of  the  quartz  from  the  California  mines.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  it 
has  not  varied  much  within  the  last  five  years,  and  in  1861,  taking  the  returns 
from  those  mines  which  were  at  that  time  believed  to  be  profitable  concerns,  it 
was  at  the  rate  of  $18  50  per  ton.  The  two  extremes  were  a  mine  in  Grass 
valley,  which  was  yielding  at  the  rate  of  $60  per  ton,  and  another  at  Angels, 
in  Calaveras  county,  where  the  quartz  only  paid  $5,  and  was  still  being  worked 
at  a  small  profit. 

I  remain,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

WM.  ASHBURNER, 

Mining  Engineer. 

J.  Ross  BROWNE,  Esq.,  Statistical  Commissioner. 


SECTION  3. 

CONDITION  QF  GOLD  AND  SILVER  MINING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST. 

1.  Decrease  of  yield. — 2.  Export  of  treasure  from  California. — 3.  Receipts  from  northern 
and  southern  mines. — 4.  Comparison  of  receipts  and  exports. — 5.  Quartz  yield  increasing. 
— 6.  Uncertainty  in  quartz  mining. — 7.  Professor  Ashburner's  statistics. — 8.  Esmond's 
statistics. — 9.  Pulverization  of  quartz. — 10.  Amalgamation  of  gold. — 11.  Sulphurets  and 
concentration. — 12.  Chlorination. — 13.  Gold  in  loose  state. — 14.  Placers. — 15.  Cement 
mining.— 16.  Hydraulic  mining. —17.  River  mining.— 18.  The  Haquard  quartz  mine. — 19. 
Sierra  Buttes  mine.  —20.  The  Allison  mine.— 20^.  The  Eureka  mine.— 21.  Smartsville 
Blue  Gravel  Company's  mine. — 22.  Profits  of  mining  generally.— 23.  Difficulties  of 
getting  good  claims. — 24.  Comstock  lode,  the  most  productive  in  the  world. — 25.  Corn- 
stock  mining  companies. — 26.  Quajtz  mills  in  Nevada. — 27.  The  pan. — 28.  The  Wheeler 
pan. — 29.  The  Varney  pan. — 30.  Knox's  pan. — 31.  Hepburn  pan. — 32.  The  Wheeler 
&  Randall  pan. — 33.  Estimated  yield  of  various  mines.— 34.  Assessments  levied. — 35. 
The  Gould  &  Curry  mine.— 36.  The  Ophir  mine.— 37.  The  Savage  mine.— 38.  The 
Yellow  Jacket  mine. — 39.  The  Crown  Point  mine. — 40.  The  Hale  &  Norcross  mine. — 
41.  The  Imperial  mine. — 42.  The  Empire  mine. — 43.  Productive  mines  of  Reese  river. 
—44.  Yield  of  various  silver  districts. — 45.  Improvements  in  silver  mining. 

1.— DECREASE  OF  YIELD. 

The  first  fact  in  the  condition  of  gold  mining  in  California  is  that  the  yield 
is  and  for  the  last  thirteen  years  has  been  decreasing.  We  know  this  by  the 
concurrent  testimony  of  the  miner,  by  the^decrease  in  the  traffic  of  crude 
bullion,  and  by  the  decline  of  the  exports  of  gold.  No  record  is  kept  of  the 
amounts  taken  from  the  mines,  and  our  best  evidence  in  regard  to  the  produc- 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 4 


50  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

tion  is  furnished  by  the  reports  of  the  receipts  and  shipments  by  express  and 
steamer.  From  these  we  can  get  an  approximation  sufficiently  near  to  serve 
all  general  purposes.  The  gold  yield  of  California  reached  its  culminating 
point  in  1853,  and  the  exportation  of  treasure,  which  rose  in  that  year  to 
$57,000,000,  gradually  fell  until  1861,  when  it  was  $40,000,000.  Then  the 
silver  of  Nevada  and  the  gold  of  Idaho  began  to  come  in,  and  the  amount  of 
the  shipments  rose  again. 

2.— THE  EXPORTATION  OF  TREASURE  FROM  CALIFORNIA. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  treasure  manifested  for  exportation 
from  San  Francisco  : 

Years.  Amount. 

1849 $4,  92 1 ,  250 

1850 .....  27,  676,  346 

1851 42,  582,  695 

1 852 46,  588,  434 

1853 57, 330, 034 

1854 51,  328,653 

1855 45,  182,  631 

1856 48,  880,  543 

1857 48,  076,  697 

1858 47,  548,  025 

1859 47,  649,  462 

1860 42,  203,  345 

1861 40,  639,  080 

1862 42,  561,  761 

1863 46, 071, 920 

1864 55,  707,  201 

1865 44,  984,  546 


Total 740,  832,  623 


It  is  well  known,  however,  that  this  sum  is  far  less  than  the  total  production 
of  the  coast.  In  the  first  place  about  $45,000,000  must  be  added  for  the  amount 
of  gold  and  silver  now  in  use  in  the  Pacific  States  and  Territories  for  currency ; 
that  amount  being  the  estimate  made  by  experienced  bankers. 

A  second  allowance  must  be  made  for  gold  jewelry  and  silver  plate  made  in 
the  country,  and  for  specimens  of  nuggets  and  rich  ores,  the  value  of  which 
may  be  $5,000,000.  Many  of  the  miners  in  remote  camps  bury  their  gold 
dust  until  they  are  ready  to  return  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  $5,000,000  may 
be  laid  by  in  that  manner.  But  the  greatest  variation  between  the  production  and 
the  manifested  export  was  caused  by  the  custom,  common  among  passengers 
bound  eastward,  of  carrying  their  dust  or  coin  on  their  persons,  so  that  no  one 
knew  how  much  they  took.  Thus  there  is  no  manifested  export  for  1848,  and 
less  than  $5,000,000  for  1849,  and  less  than  $28,000,000  for  1850,  while  the 
actual  production  and  exportation  of  those  years  was  about  $100,000,000.  We 
can  safely  put  down  the  amount  carried  away  in  sixteen  years  unmanifested  at 
$200,000,000,  and  by  this  calculation  we  shall  have  a  total  production  of  about 
$1,000,000,000  from  the  coast  up  to  the  end  of  1865.  Of  this  sum  all  has 
come  from  the  mines  of  California,  save  about  $100,000,000  contributed  by 
Nevada,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Arizona,  Washington,  and  British  Columbia.  The 
accounts,  however,  of  the  contributions  from  these  States  and  Territories  have 
not  been  accurately  kept,  with  the  exception  of  Nevada,  so  it  is  impossible  to 
give  any  precise  statement  of  them. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS 
3.— RECEIPTS  FKOM  NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  MINES. 


51 


The  express  company  of  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  transport  nearly  all  the  treasure 
produced  on  the  coast,  and  they  could,  from  their  books,  show  the  shipments 
of  coin  and  bullion  from  every  large  mining  town  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains ; 
but  they  have  considered  it  advisable  to  allow  the  publication  of  the  receipts  of 
treasure  at  San  Francisco  only  from  the  principal  districts  since  1860. 

The  following  table  shows  the  receipts  of  treasure,  coined  and  uncoined,  from 
the  northern  and  southern  mines  of  California : 


Years. 

Northern  mines, 
California. 

Southern  mines, 
California. 

Total,  Califor- 
nia. 

3861  .  

$26,  346,  431 

$9,363,214 

$35,709  645 

1862                        

28,  138,  021 

8,154,702 

36  292  723 

1863                                                     

25,429,157 

7,411,931 

3£  841  088 

1864                    *                             ... 

22,  804,  677 

6  858  153 

29  662  830 

1865 

24  557  570 

6  428  960 

30  986  530 

Of  the  treasure  thus  received  at  San  Francisco,  about  $4,000,000  annually  is 
in  coin,  leaving  the  remainder  to  indicate  the  value  of  the  dust  and  bars. 

The  "northern  mines,"  as  mentioned  in  the  above  table,  include  all  those 
districts  which  send  their  treasure  to  San  Francisco  by  way  of  Sacramento,  or, 
in  other  words,  all  the  interior  of  the  State  north  of  latitude  38°  30',  while  the 
"southern  mines"  include  those  districts  which  send  their  treasure  by  way  of 
Stockton.  To  express  it  differently,  the  term  "northern  mines,"  as  here  used, 
means  the  counties  Siskiyou,  Shasta,  Trinity,  Plumas,  Butte,  Lassen,  Sierra, 
Yuba,  Nevada,  Placer,  El  Dorado,  Sacramento,  and  parts  of  Calaveras  and 
Amador,  while  the  term  "southern  mines"  means  Tulare,  Fresno,  Inyo,  Kern, 
Stanislaus,  Mono,  Mariposa,  Tuolumne,  and  parts  of  Calaveras  and  Amador. 
The  extension  of  the  railroad  from  Sacramento  to  the  vicinity  of  Placerville,  in 
1863  and  1864,  drew  to  Sacramento  some  trade  that  previously  went  to  Stock- 
ton. The  receipts  from  the  southern  mines  show  a  marked  and  steady  decrease. 
During  the  first  nine  months  of  1866  the  receipts  from  the  southern  mines  were 
$3,418,436. 

Receipts  from  Nevada  and  the  northern  coast. 
The  receipts  from  other  places  are  the  following : 


Years. 

Nevada. 

Northern  coast. 

Foreign  ports. 

1861  
1862  

$2,  275,  256 
6,  247,  047 

$4,931,579 

$1,702,683 
1,904,084 

18H3 

12,  486,  238 

4  970,023 

2,  156,  612 

1864    ...     . 

15  795  585 

8  052  968 

1  715,024 

1865 

15  184  877 

7  495  766 

1  709  390 

The  "northern  coast"  means  those  mines  which  send  their  treasure  to  San 
Francisco  by  ocean  steamers  plying  to  ports  of  Northern  California,  Oregon, 
and  Vancouver  island.  The  term  "foreign  ports"  excludes  Victoria,  and  in- 
cludes Mazatlan,  Guaymas,  La  Paz,  Honolulu,  China,  and  Japan.  San  Fran- 
cisco stands  on  a  long  peninsula,  and  all  the  traffic  with  the  gold  and  silver 
mining  regions  is  done  across  water.  The  yield  of  the  northern  mines  is 
brought  by  the  Sacramento  steamers;  the  yield  of  the  southern  mines  by  the 
Stockton  steamers;  the  yield  of  the  northern  coast  by  the  northern  coast 
steamers,  and  the  imports  frorr  foreign  ports  are  brought  by  other  vessels. 


52 


RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 


The  sources  of  the  receipts  are  classified  according  to  the  vessels  in  which 
they  are  brought.  These  receipts  are,  however,  not  all  in  the  precious  metals 
as  they  come  from  the  mines  and  mills,  but  portions  are  in  coin. 

Thus  the  coin  included  in  those  receipts  was  $9,363,214  in  1861,  $5,593,421 
in  1862,  $6,383,974  in  1863,  $5,743,399  in  1864,  and  $4,961,922  in  1865. 
No  accounts  have  been  kept  of  the  coin  sent  to  the  interior;  but  all  this  coin 
received  must  have  gone  from  San  Francisco,  which  has  the  only  mint  of  the 
coast,  and  is  the  point  at  which  nearly  all  the  passengers  and  treasure  arrive. 

4.— COMPARISON  OF  RECEIPTS  AND  EXPORTS. 

The  following  figures  show  the  exports,  the  receipts,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween exports  and  receipts  for  the  last  five  years : 


Years. 

Exports. 

Receipts. 

Difference. 

1861             .                  

$40,  639,  080 

$43  391,760 

$2  752  680  gain. 

3862 

42,  561  ,  761 

49  375,462 

6  813  701     " 

3863  

46,071,920 

52,  953,  96J 

6,38^,041     " 

1864                                    

55,  707,  201 

55,  228,  907 

478  794  loss. 

1865                                                   

44,  984,  546 

55  467  573 

10  483  027  gain 

The  total  amount  of  coin  receipts  for  the  five  years  was  $32,045.928;  and 
the  excess  of  receipts  over  exported  during  the  same  period  was  $25,952,655. 
A  large  part  of  the  coin  received  must  have  belonged  to  the  regular  circulation 
of  the  country,  going  and  coming  with  the  current  of  trade.  The  receipts  of 
treasure  at  San  Francisco  during  the  first  nine  months  of  1866  were  $3,000 
less  than  in  the -corresponding  period  of  1865. 

The  year  1862  was  unfavorable  to  mining  in  California  because  of  a  great 
flood,  and  1863  because  of  a  great  drought;  and  some  special  unexplained  in- 
fluence may  have  operated  to  reduce  the  production  and  shipment  in  1865;  but 
the  annual  gold  yield  of  California  cannot  now  be  safely  estimated  at  more  than 
$27,000,000.  Several  millions  of  each  year's  produce  of  the  precious  metals 
may  be  retained  on  the  coast  for  purposes  of  currency,  ornaments,  and  table- 


ware. 


5.— QUARTZ  YIELD  INCREASING. 


The  yield  of  the  quartz  mines  is  increasing  slowly,  as  we  know  by  the  gen- 
eral testimony  of  the  miners  and  by  the  increase  of  quartz  mills ;  but  there  are 
no  statistics  to  show  the  rate  of  increase.  Although  some  mines  have  paid 
steadily  at  about  the  same  rate  for  the  last  ten  years,  the  business  generally  is 
very  uncertain.  Thus  it  appears  from  a  report  made  by  Mr.  Eemond,  State 
geological  surveyor,  that  of  sixty-three  mills  built  in  TuoJumne  and  Mariposa 
counties,  between  the  Merced  and  Stanislaus  rivers,  thirty-eight  were  not  running 
when  he  visited  them  between  August  and  November,  1865,  and  in  many  in- 
stances the  veins  had  ceased  to  yield  quartz  rich  enough  to  pay.  And  so  it  is 
in  every  part  of  the  State  where  quartz  mills  have  been  built — a  considerable 
portion  of  them  have  been  abandoned  as  very  unprofitable  investments.  And 
yet  every  week  new  and  valuable  veins  are  discovered,  and  they  cannot  be  left 
unwoiked ;  and  though  many  quartz  miners  fail,  yet  others  are  deriving  princely 
revenues  from  their  claims. 

Grass  valley,  the  chief  centre  of  the  quartz  mining  of  California,  is  becoming 
richer  every  year.  It  is  safe  to  estimate  that  the  capital  invested  in  quartz 
mines*  and  mills  is  yielding  an  average  profit  of  twenty  per  cent,  per  annum,  and 
that  the  average  yield  is  at  least  three  dollars  per  day  for  the  men  regularly  at 


WEST   OP   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  53 

work  on  mines  which  have  been  fairly  opened.  There  are  in  the  State  a  multi- 
tude of  men  engaged  nominally  in  quartz  mining  who  really  spend  much  of  their 
time  in  prospecting  and  lounging  about,  unwilling  to  work  hard  for  ordinary 
wages,  but  preferring  to  ramble  over  the  country  in  the  hope  of  striking  a  for- 
tune. As  to  the  well-known  mines,  the  yield  on  some  of  them  is  more  than 
twenty  dollars  per  day  to  the  hand  the  year  round. 

6.— UNCERTAINTY  IN  QUARTZ  MINING. 

There  are  certain  elements  of  uncertainty  in  quartz  mining  not  found  in  farm- 
ing or  manufacturing.  The  farmer,  on  looking  at  the  soil,  knows  that  it  will 
produce  grain  enough  to  support  him ;  he  can  ascertain  precisely  what  it  will 
cost  him  to  transport  his  grain  to  a  market,  and  so  can  calculate  how  much 
money  he  will  receive  from  an  ordinary  crop.  There  is  a  possibility  of  a  great 
drought  or  a  great  blight,  but  he  has,  perhaps,  a  little  capital  as  a  reliance  in 
such  a  case,  and  he  makes  his  estimates  on  the  basis  of  an  average  season.  If 
he  cannot  afford  to  risk  anything,  he  does  all  his  work  with  his  own  hands,  and 
he  cannot  lose  more  than  his  time. 

The  manufacturer  is  uncertain  about  the  price  which  he  must  pay  for  the  raw 
material,  but  he  knows  the  world  will  have  the  goods,  and  will  pay  as  much  to 
him  as  to  anybody  else,  and  if  he  can  manufacture  a  little  cheaper  than  others 
he  is  certain  of  his  profit.  If  he  is  incompetent  to  manage  the  business  success- 
fully, some  one  else  can  afford  to  buy  him  out  at  the  cost  of  the  building  and 
machinery  and  make  it  pay.  When  a  manufacturing  establishment  is  once 
erected  by  a  person  of  judgment  and  experience,  it  is  presumed  that  the  business 
will  go  on  steadily  for  generation  after  generation.  The  supply  of  the  raw  ma 
terial  and  the  demand  for  the  manufactured  article,  at  least  if  the  goods  are  not 
of  the  sort  required  by  fickle  fashion,  will  remain  constant. 

But  with  gold  mining  it  is  different.  Auriferous  quartz  lodes  have  paying 
quantities  of  metal  only  in  spots  or  streaks.  The  law  of  the  distribution  of  the 
precious  metals  in  veins  is  yet  unknown.  The  quartz  may  be  traced  for  miles, 
but  only  here  and  there  will  it  pay  to  work.  No  mineral  lode  anywhere  is 
worked,  I  believe,  with  much  profit  for  more  than  two  continuous  miles,  and  it 
is  seldom  that  the  pay-rock  extends  more  than  one  thousand  feet  along  a  vein. 
The  great  quartz  lode  of  Mariposa,  called  sometimes  the  mother  vein  of  Califor 
nia,  has  been  traced,  it  is  supposed,  for  thirty  miles  or  more ;  at  least  croppings 
of  a  large  lead  of  the  same  quality  of  quartz,  nearly  in  a  straight  line,  ^re  seen 
at  various  points  between  Bear  valley,  in  Mariposa  county,  and  Angels,  in  Cal- 
averas  county ;  and  it  is  assumed  that  these  croppings  all  belong  to  the  same 
lode.  In  some  places  this  vein  is  very  rich,  but  the  rich  spots  are  not  long,  and 
are  far  apart,  and  in  the  intervals  the  rock  is  nearly  or  entirely  barren.  The 
miner  may  find  quartz  containing  ten  dollars  to  the  ton,  and  he  knows  if  the 
supply  is  abundant  he  may  make  a  fortune  from  his  claim ;  but  to  explore  the 
lode  requires  a  large  capital,  and  there  is  no  certainty  of  any  return.  The  rock 
is  too  poor  to  work  without  a  mill,  and  there  is  not  enough  in  sight  to  justify  the 
erection  of  a  mill.  If  he  takes  the  risk,  and  the  pay-rock  is  eoon  exhausted,  his 
mill,  in  that  position,  becomes  worthless,  and  he  loses  the  cost  of  all  his  frame- 
work, roads,  and  ditches,  which,  with  the  transportation,  is  frequently  greater 
than  the  cost  of  the  machinery  proper.  The  manufacturer  knows  that  his  sup- 
ply of  cotton,  wool,  iron,  leather,  or  wood,  will  not  fail  altogether,  and  if  it  be- 
comes scanty  he  can  raise  his  price  so  that  his  work  will  still  be  profitable ;  and 
the  farmer  knows  that  his  soil  will  produce  grass  and  grain  as  long  as  he  lives ; 
but  the  quartz  miner  does  not  know  that  the  supply  of  his  pay-rock  will  keep 
steady,  and  if  it  runs  short  he  cannot  expect  the  price  of  the  precious  metals  to 
rise  so  that  he  can  sell  his  produce  for  a  higher  pace  per  pound. 

There  is,  again,  a  great  diversity  in  the  facilities  for  quartz  mining  at  different 


54  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

places.  The  farmer  or  the  manufacturer  usually  goes  into  a  level  country  with 
open  roads,  and  after  ascertaining  the  distance  to  the  market  and  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation, he  can  decide  whether  he  can  afford  to  go  into  business.  Perhaps  he 
would  find  fifty  places  within  a  range  of  ten  miles,  all  equally  good  for  his  farm 
or  his  factory.  But  with  the  miner  the  case  is  different.  The  mines  are  usually 
found  in  the  mountains,  where  there  are  no  roads,  water  is  not  conveniently  ac- 
cessible, and  wood  is  scarce.  The  rock  in  one  part  of  the  lode  is  hard,  in  another 
soft;  in  one  there  is  much  sulphuret  of  iron,  in  another  little.  It  is  relatively 
cheaper  to  work  a  wide  streak  of  pay  rock,  other  things  being  equal,  than  a  nar- 
row one.  The  mill  may  be  far  or  near;  it  may  be  above  the  level  of  the  mine, 
or  below  it;  the  water  for  washing  the  pulverized  rock  may  be  obtainable  for 
only  part  of  the  year,  and  the  gold  may  be  found  in  thick  masses  so  that  the 
workmen  can  conveniently  pilfer  considerable  quantities.  Many  of  the  mills 
are  in  secluded  places,  where  men  of  wealth  do  not  like  to  live,  and  thus  the 
property  is  put  in  charge  of  hired  men,  who  lack  the  zeal  and  care  of  a  pro- 
prietor. These  are  some  of  the  points  in  which  there  are  serious  variations.  It 
may  safely  be  said  that  a  farmer  owning  a  hundred  acres  of  rich  soil  on  a  prairie 
within  twenty  miles  of  any  large  town  of  Illinois  is  certain  of  being  able  to 
make  a  very  comfortable  living ;  but  a  miner  with  a  vein  of  auriferous  quartz 
yielding  ten  dollars  to  the  ton,  within  ten  miles  of  a  California  town,  is  not  cer- 
tain of  anything  until  he  has  examined  the  vein,  its  position,  its  size,  the  char- 
acter of  the  vein-stone  and  accompanying  minerals,  and  the  proximity  and  quan- 
tity of  wood,  besides  a  number  of  other  particulars. 

These  are  some  of  the  diversities  of  circumstances  which  beset  quartz  mining 
in  different  places,  and  render  it  impossible  to  give  a  statement  of  the  expenses 
of  taking  out  rock,  building  a  mill,  and  reducing  the  ore,  applicable  to  the  ma- 
jority of  the  mines.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  convey  any  precise  idea  about 
matters -in  which  the  variations  are  so  great  between  the  workings  of  different 
mines,  and  between  the  workings  of  the  same  mine  at  different  times.  All  that 
•  can  be  done  is  to  collect  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  operations  of  the  mines  and 
mills  of  which  we  have  reports,  so  as  to  show  the  range. 

7.— PROFESSOR  ASHBURNER'S  STATISTICS. 

In  1861  Professor  TV.  Ashburner,  connected  with  the  State  geological  survey, 
prepared  a  tabular  statement  of  the  operations  of  the  principal  quartz  mills  then 
running  in  California.  Of  these  there  were  four  in  Mariposa  county,  eight  in 
Tuoluinne,  three  in  Calaveras,  seven  in  Amador,  three  in  Eldorado,  two  in 
Plumas,  two  in  Sierra,  and  nine  in  Nevada — thirty-eight  in  all. 

It  appears  from  his  table  that  in  seven  of  the  mills  the  stamps  weighed  400  and  less 
than  500  pounds  each;  in  eight  mills  the  weight  was  500  and  under  600  pounds; 
in  eight  the  weight  was  between  600  and  700  pounds ;  in  eight  it  was  700  and 
less  than  1,000  pounds  ;  in  two  it  was  1,000,  and  in  one  1,500. 

The  height  to  which  the  stamp  was  raised  when  allowed  to  fall  varied  from 
eight  to  fourteen  inches.  In  ten  mills  the  height  was  ten  inches ;  in  six,  twelve 
inches  ;  in  five,  fourteen  inches  ;  in  four,  thirteen  inches ;  in  one,  eleven  inches  ; 
in  one,  eight  inches' ;  in  one,  nine  inches. 

In  thirteen  mills  the  speed  of  the  blows  was  from  sixty  to  sixty-five  inclusive 
per  minute ;  in  ten  mills  it  was  from  fifty  to  fifty-eight ;  in  three  mills  it  was 
from  forty  to  forty-eight ;  in  three  mills  it  was  seventy ;  in  three  mills  it  was 
eighty ;  and  in  one  mill  it  was  thirty-two  per  minute. 

In  six  of  the  steam-mills  the  consumption  of  wood  for  ten  tons  of  ore  crushed 
was  from  a  cord  to  a  cord  and  a  half;  in  eight  mills  it  was  from  a  cord  and  a 
half  to  two  cords  ;  in  two  mills  it  was  from  two  to  three  cords ;  in  three  mills 
it  was  less  than  a  cord ;  in  one  mill  it  was  over  three  cords,  and  in  another  five 
cords. 

The  loss  of  mercury  is  reported  for  twenty-nine  mills,  and  in  two  the  loss  is 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  55 

less  than  a  pound  in  working  one  hundred  tons  of  quartz ;  in  twenty-one  the 
loss  is  less  than  a  pound  in  working  ten  tons  ;  and  in  six  the  loss  is  over  one 
pound  in  working  ten  tons.  The  lowest  loss  is  seven  pounds  in  working  one 
thousand  tons,  and  the  yield  of  the  rock  there  is  reported  to  be  $25  per  ton,  and 
the  highest  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  pounds  for  one  thousand  tons ;  and 
in  that  case  the  rock  is  reported  to  yield  $17  14  per  ton.  The  general  rule  is, 
however,  that  the  higher  the  yield  of  gold,  the  greater  the  loss  of  quicksilver  per 
ton,  because  more  must  be  used. 

The  cost  of  extracting  the  quartz  is  reported  for  twenty-eight  mines.  In 
eight,  it  is  $2  and  less  than  $3  ;  in  four  mines  it  is  $3  and  less  than  $4 ;  in  two 
mines  it  is  $4  and  less  than  $5 ;  in  five  mines  it  is  $5  and  less  than  $6 ;  in  three 
mines  it  is  $6  ;  in  two  mines  it  is  less  than  $2  ;  in  three  mines  it  is  between  $7 
and  $14;  in  one  mine  it  is  $15;  in  another  $20  ;  and  in  another  $26. 

The  average  yield  per  ton  was  $5  and  less  than  $10  in  four  mines ;  $10  and 
less  than  $16  in  eleven;  $16  and  less  than  $55  in  five;  between  $25  and  $40, 
inclusive,  in  seven ;  between  $50  and  $75  in  four,  and  $80  in  one. 

In  seven  mills  the  cost  of  stamping  per  ton  was  50  cents  and  less  than  $1 ; 
in  seven  $1  and  less  than  $1  50 :  in  five  $1  50  and  less  than  $2 ;  in  four  $2 
and  less  than  $3 ;  in  three  $3  and  less  than  $4. 

In  thirteen  mills  the  total  cost  of  treatment  (which  includes  crushing,  amal- 
gamation, and  all  the  handling  after  the  delivery  of  the  quartz  at  the  mill,  and 
loss  of  quicksilver)  was  $2  and  less  than  $3  per  ton;  in  seven  mills  it  was  $1 
and  less  than  $1  50  per  ton ;  in  four  mills  it  was  over  $1  50  and  less  than  $2 ; 
in  two  mills  it  was  less  than  $1 ;  in  five  mills  it  was  between  $3  and  $4;  and  in 
three  mills  it  was  respectively  $4  59,  $6  27,  and  $8  31.  The  cheapest  tr^at- 
ment  was  that  of  the  Badger  mine,  in  Amador  county,  where  the  cost  was  only 
67  cents  per  ton. 

a— ESMOND'S  STATISTICS. 

In  the  months  of  August,  September,  October,  and  November  of  the  year 
1865,  Mr.  A.  Remond,  in  the  service  of  the  State  geological  survey  of  Califor- 
nia, visited  all  the  quartz  mines  and  mills  in  operation,  or  that  had  been  in  op- 
eration, in  those  portions  of  Tuolumne  and  Mariposa  counties  lying  between  the 
Merced  and  Stanislaus  rivers.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  mines  and  mills 
thus  visited  : 

No.  Mine.  Mill. 

1.  French  Mary No  mill. 

2.  Hope Brichman's. 

3.  Victor Victor. 

4.  Mount  Hope Mount  Hope. 

5.  Catherine Catherine. 

6.  Cranberry Yosemite. 

7.  Rutherford No.  6. 

8.  Ferguson's Ferguson's. 

9.  Cedar : Cedar. 

10.  Empire , Empire. 

11.  Mary  Harrison Old  French  Mill. 

12.  Malvina New  French  Mill. 

13.  Adelaide Crown  Lead. 

14.  McAlpine McAlpine. 

15.  Louisiana Louisiana. 

16.  Schimer's Low  Mill. 

17.  Funk's Funk's  (2)  Mills. 

18.  Casabon's Casabon's. 

19.  Goodwin's Eclipse 


56  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

20.  Derrick's Derrick's. 

21.  Humbug  ... Humbug. 

22.  Blue  Ledge , Black's. 

23.  Heslep's Heslep's. 

24.  App's App's. 

25.  Morse's No  mill. 

26.  Orcutt's Orcutt's. 

27.  No  mine * Ryerson's. 

28.  Eureka Eureka. 

29.  Summers's Summers's. 

30.  Grizzly Grizzly. 

31.  Excelsior Excelsior. 

32.  Dagner Dagner. 

33.  Mt.  Vernon No  mill. 

34.  Monitor Monitor. 

35.  Green's Green's. 

36.  Pirate Pirate. 

37.  Independence Independence. 

38.  Great  Eastern .No  mill. 

39.  Comstock No  mill. 

40.  Soulsby Soulsby. 

41.  Independent No  mill. 

42.  Gilson's,  (old  mine) Gilson's. 

43.  Jackson's No  mill. 

44.  Calder's No  mill. 

45.  No  mine Wheeler's. 

46.  Consuelo Consuelo. 

47.  Waters's Waters's. 

48.  Watts's Watts's. 

49.  Union Union. 

50.  Alabama Alabama. 

51.  Gilson's,  (new  mine) Gilson's,  (No.  42, 

52.  No  mine » Washington. 

53.  Toledo Labitour. 

54.  Raw  Hide Raw  Hide. 

55.  Shanghai   * Shanghai. 

56.  Columbia Columbia. 

57.  Patterson's Patterson's. 

58.  Valparaiso Valparaiso. 

59.  Turner's No  mill. 

60.  Preston's Preston's. 

61.  Italian Occidental. 

62.  Old  Whiskey  Hill Wood's  Crossing. 

63.  Nyman's Nyman's. 

64.  John  Knox's t No  mill. 

65.  No  mine Widow  Hill. 

66.  Clio Clio. 

67.  Shawmut Shawmut. 

68.  Josephine Stetson's. 

69.  Eagle Eagle. 

70.  Italian , No  mill. 

71.  Nonpareil Duprat's. 

72.  Burns ' No  mill. 

73.  No  mine Cross's. 

74.  Second  Garote Pacific,  (No.  75.) 

75.  Morkam . . , Pacific. 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


5? 


76.  Kanaka Pacific,  (No.  75.) 

77.  Phoenix . ., Phoenix. 

78.  Mohrmann's No  mill. 

79.  Kenney's Kenney's. 

80.  Golden  Rule Golden  Rule. 

81.  Golden  Rule,  (No.  80) Golden  Rule,  (No.  80.) 

82.  Golden  Rule.  (No.  80) Golden  Rule,  (No.  SO.) 

83.  Brown's  Flat Brown's  Flat. 

84.  Zuckermann's Zuckermann's. 


Number. 

Average  width  of  lode. 

Average  yield  per  ton. 

s. 
fa- 

o 

•s 

o 
O 

1 

** 

1 

Cost  of  treatment. 

ft 

C 

.2 

II 

ja 

I 

"o 

1 

•-i 
fi 

1 

1 

o 

0 

Kind  of  amalgamating 
machinery. 

Cost  of  roads. 

£  . 

11 

'O  3 

o 

8 

o 
O 

1 

Ft.  in. 
1      6 

$12  00 

- 

2 
3 

1 
1 

6  00 
10  60 

$3  00 

$i  66 

$1  50 

Not  running 
Not  running 

$4,  000 
3,000 

Water.. 
Water.. 

10 

tc. 

{C  &A 

$500 
100 

$500 
1  000 

4 

3  500 

Water 

5 

100 

1  000 

S 

G 

7 

1      2 
2      6 
1      6 

32  50 
18  00 
25  00 

14  00 
3  50 

1  25 
2  00 

3  00 
3  00 

Not  running 
Running.  ... 

3,000 
3,000 

Water.  . 
Water.. 

3 

5 

C.  &  A. 
C. 

1,000 
1,000 

'600 
1,200 

8 

g 

20  00 

6  000 

Water 

B 

C 

500 

1  000 

i) 

11) 

1 
1      6 

40  00 
40  00 

4  00 

2  50 

2  50 

Running  .  .  . 
Ruined  • 

3,000 

Water.. 

5 

c. 

* 

90 

'150 

11 

3 

14  00 

4  00 

1  00 

2  66 

Steam 

15 

* 

330 

12 

10 

19  00 

1  75 

2  00 

Running 

Steam 

* 

150 

13 
14 
IS 
16 

17 

2 

1 
1      6 
1 
1 

6  00 
37  50 
25  00 
15  00 

1  00 
4  00 
4  00 
3  00 

1  25 
2  00 
75 
None. 

75 
2  00 
2  00 
2  00 

Not  running 
Not  running 
Running  .  .  . 
Not  running 

42,000 
10,  000 
6,000 
6,000 
5  700 

II  w.  &  s. 

Water.. 
Steam.. 
Steam.. 
Water 

25 
8 
5 
8 
10 

* 

* 

c. 

6,500 
100 
50 
4 
100 

18,  000 
200 
None. 
None. 
500 

1ft 

1      6 

15  00 

Not  running 

6,000 

Water.. 

8 

c 

100 

3  000 

19 

20 

2 
1      6 

15  00 
25  00 
4  00 

2  00 
12  00 
1  50 

1  50 
3  00 
50 

1  50 
4  00 
3  00 

Not  running 
Not  running 

4,000 
3,000 
2  300 

Water.. 
Water.. 
Water 

8 
6 

4 

c. 

c. 

1,000 
1,500 
50 

1.000 
500 
500 

22 

23  00 

5  00 

2  00 

3  00 

Not  running 

1,500 

Water.. 

4 

c 

None 

500 

S3 
24 

10 
6 

12  00 

18  00 

2  50 
3  00 

40 
75 

200 
2  50 

Running  .  .    . 
Running 

12,  000 
4,500 

Water.. 
W.  &  S. 

10 
10 

c. 

X 

300 
500 

1,200 

"•-> 

1      6 

27  50 

2  00 

50 

6  00 

50 

26 

"7 

2      6 

25  00 

2  00 

50 

6  00 

Running..    . 

3,000 
20  000 

Water.. 
Water 

5 

* 

50 

100 

86 

4 

14  00 

4  00 

None. 

2  75 

Running  . 

28,  000 

Water  .  . 

"0 

* 

1  500 

29 
30 

3 

7 

15  00 

17  50 

2  50 

4  00 

50 
50 

2  50 
6  00 

Not  running  . 
Not  running 

6,000 

Water.. 
W.  &  S. 

8 
90 

* 

* 

5 

2  200 

300 
1  200 

31 
32 
33 

2      6 
1 
1 

60  00 
40  00 

3  00 
4  50 

50 
None. 

1  00 
1  75 

Not  running 
Not  running  . 

13,  500 
22,000 

Water... 
Steam  .  .  . 

10 
10 

* 

2,000 
None. 

500 
None. 

34 
35 
36 

1      <3 
1 
1 

30  00 
80  00 
25  00 

3  00 
10  00 
9  50 

None. 
None. 
50 

2  00 
3  50 
3  50 

Running  .... 
Running..  .. 

7,000 
4,000 
10  000 

Water... 
Steam... 
Water 

5 
5 
10 

C   &  A 

1,000 
None. 

300 
None. 

37 

36 

4      6 
2 

40  00 
20  00 

4  37i 

50 

2  75 

Running  .... 

15,000 

Steam... 

10 



None. 

39 

1      6 

2  50 

40 

4! 

1      3 
10 

27  50 
36  00 

8  00 

None. 

3  75 

Running  .... 

20,  000 

Steam... 

20 

c. 



None. 

4-2 
43 

1      6 
6 

52  50 
107  00 

12  00 

None. 

4  50 

Not  running  . 

9,000 

Steam... 

10 

c:  &  A. 

None. 

None. 

44 

1      2 

45 

"W    t 

7  500 

10 

* 

3      6 

No*,  finished 

Water 

20 

£J 

47 
48 

50 

9 
2 
2 
25 
1      4 

6  00 
180  00 
8  00 
10  00 
40  00 

2  00 
60  00 
I  00 
1  50 
13  00 

25 
25 
25 
None'. 
1  25 

1  75 
7  00 
1  75 
1  00 
6  00 

Running  .... 

Not  running  . 
Not  running  . 
Running  .... 

3,000 
800 
2,000 
1,500 

Water... 
Water... 
Water... 
Water... 

6 
3 
8 
4 

C. 

C.' 

1,000 
None. 
50 
150 
1,000 

600 
2,500 
500 
200 

None. 

53 

1  °00 

Water 

3 

c 

None 

None 

53 

3      6 
4 

10  00 
25  00 

2  00 

None. 

2  00 

Not  running  . 

14,  800 

Water... 
Water 

15 
]0 

c. 
c. 

1,000 

4,000 

55 

56 

2      6 
3      6 

40  00 
9  00 

5  00 

2  UO 

None. 
60 

2  00 
250 

Running..  .. 
Not  running  . 

4.000 
15,  000 

Water... 
Water... 

10 
15 

c. 
c. 

None. 
1,000 

100 
4  000 

58 


RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


Number. 

Average  width  of  lode. 

Q 

2 

I 

2 
1 

L 

P« 

§ 

li 

CM 
O 

1 

O 

P 

o 

1 

1 
"o 

.2 
11 

!* 
1 
f 

'i 

o 

1 

O 

ti 
o 

I 

rg    C5 
fl- 

S3 

1 

Number  of  stamps. 

Kind  of  amalgamating 
machinery. 

Cost  of  roads. 

•o 
1 

Is 

*J 

<S<* 

57 

58 

Ft.  in. 
4 
2 

$8  00 
80  00 

$2  00 

25 

None 

$2  50 

Not  running. 

$6,500 
3  000 

Water... 
Water 

10 

fi 

C. 

c 

$400 

$1,  200 

59 

2      6 

None. 

None 

(]() 

10 

o  00 

60 

I  50 

"W    f 

4  ooo 

Water 

10 

C 

300 

500 

01 

62 
63 
64 

6      6 
15 
4 
1 

20  00 
15  00 
17  00 
65  00 

4  00 
50 
3  00 

None. 
50 
90 

1  50 
1  50 
1  00 

Not  running. 
Running  
Running  

6,000 
2,  000 
4,000 

Water... 
Water... 
Water... 

12 
4 
10 

C.  &  A 
C. 
C.  &  A. 

400 
1,000 
1,000 

300 
1,200 
1,000 

65 

5 

Q 

^ 

66 

67 

68 

5      6 
1      6 

8 

15  00 
25  00 
8  00 

3  00 
2  75 
2  00 

75 
None. 
None. 

2  00 
1  50 
1  50 

Not  running  . 
Not  running  . 
Not  running  . 

5,000 
H,000 
7,500 

Water... 

Steam... 
Water 

10 
10 

1,000 
2,000 
800 

16,  000 
None. 
500 

69 

70 

2 
8 

12  00 

3  50 

50 

2  00 

Running  

11,  GOO 

Water... 

10 

C. 

2,500 

3,000 

71 

30  66 

Water 

5 

"    * 

72 

4 

20  00 

1  00 

1  12 

4  50 

73 

T? 

4  500 

10 

'* 

74 

1      6 

i       mg 

75 

4 

14  00 

1  50 

40 

3  66 

Not  running  . 

3,666 

Water. 

*> 

C.  &  A. 

76 

8  00 

2  00 

2  00 

3  00 

77 

2      6 

15  00 

200 

Water 

A 

78 

2      6 



7() 

5 

15  00 

1  000 

Water 

A 

80 

8 

40  00 

1  00 

2  00 

Running 

2'  ooo 

Water 

5 

c 

50 

400 

SI 

1  300 

2 

* 

200 

8° 

12  000 

W'lter 

15 

* 

" 

83 
84 

6 
1      6 

40  00 
40  00 

11  00 
5  00 

None. 

1  50 
4  00 

Not  running  . 

3,  500 

4  UOO 

Water. 
Water 

4 
4 

C.  &  A. 
C 

None. 

1,500 

*  The  amalgamating  >apparatus  in  the  mills  marked  with  the  asterisk  is  given  below. 

1  C.  copper  plate.    }  C.  &  A.  copper  plate  and  arrastra.     ||  W.  &  S.  water  and  steam.     §  A.  arrastra. 

In  numbers  5,  6,  11, 12,  14,  25,  30,  and  40  the  average  yield  is  obtained  by 
dividing  the  sum  of  two  figures  given  by  Mr.  Remond.  For  instance,  the 
average  yield  of  mine  No.  5  is  given  above  as  $32  50,  whereas  Mr.  Remond 
says  the  yield  is  from  $25  to  $40.  In  the  same  manner  the  cost  of  exiraction 
in  No.  37  is  given  at  $4  37J,  whereas  Mr.  Remond  says  it  is  from  $2  75  to  $6. 
Mines  Nos.  59  and  70  yield  coarse  gold,  which  is  taken  from  the  rock  after 
pounding  it  in  a  hand-mortar. 

In  mill  No.  11  Hungarian  pans  are  used,  and  in  No.  12  Hungarian  pans  and 
an  arrastra;  in  No.  13,  Patterson's  pans  and  separators;  in  No.  14,  copper 
plates  and  amalgamating  pans  ;  in  No.  15,  Salmon's  amalgamator  and  Salmon's 
separator;  in  No.  23,  copper  plates,  an  arrastra,  a  Beath's  grinder,  and  a  Sal- 
mon's concentrator;  Nos.  26  and  37,  copper  plates  and  blankets;  in  No.  27, 
a  centrifugal  grinder,  a  Ryerson's  pulverizer,  a  super-heated  steam  apparatus, 
and  a  shaking  table ;  in  No.  28,  shaking  pans  and  a  Chili  mill ;  in  No.  29, 
copper  plates,  shaking  pans,  and  an  arrastra ;  in  No.  30,  cast-iron  barrels  ;  in 
No.  31,  copper  plates  and  a  shaking  pan;  in  No.  32,  copper  plates,  arrastras, 
and  a  shaking  table ;  in  No.  34,  an  Ambler's  concentrator,  a  shaking  table,  and 
arrastras;  in  No.  35,  copper  plates  and  a  Beath's  amalgamator;  in  No.  45, 
Varney's  pans  and  a  concentrator;  in  Nos.  66  and  67,  copper  plates  and  Knox's 
pans ;  in  No.  71,  copper  plates,  a  Farrand's  amalgamator,  and  a  settler;  in  No. 
73  Varney's  pans  and  a  settler,  and  in  No.  82,  copper  plates,  shaking  tables, 
and  an  arrastra. 

It  appears  that  the  average  thickness  of  21  lodes  is  from  1  to  12  inches, 
inclusive ;  in  2(),  from  13  to  24  inches,  inclusive ;  of  9,  from  25  to  36  inches, 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  59 

inclusive ;  of  10,  from  37  to  48  inches,  inclusive ;  of  9,  from  5  to  10*feet  inclu- 
sive ;  and  of  2,  over  10  feet. 

In  9  mines  the  average  yield  is  under  $10  per  ton  ;  in  22  it  is  between  -$10 
and  $19,  inclusive;  in  14  it  is  between  $20  and  $29,  inclusive;  in  14  it  is  be- 
tween $30  and  $49,  inclusive  ;  in  3  it  is  between  $50  and  $69,  inclusive,  arid  in 
4  it  is  over  $70.  Only  one  mine  has  a  yield  as  low  as  $4 ;  three  have  a  yield 
of  $6  ;  4  of  $8,  and  1  of  $9. 

The  cost  of  extraction  per  ton  depends,  to  a  considerable  extent,  upon  the 
thickness  of  the  vein,  or,  rather,  of  the  pay -rock  in  the  vein.  In  mine  No.  48 
the  vein  is  only  two  inches  thick,  and  it  costs  $60  to  get  out  a  ton  of  ore,  while 
in  No.  62  it  costs  only  50  cents  to  take  out  a  ton  of  rock  from  a  vein  15  feet  wide. 
In  1  mine  the  cost  of  extraction  was  under  $1  ;  in  8,  between  $1  and  $1  90  in- 
clusive; in  14,  between  $2  and  $2  90,  inclusive;  in  9,  between  $3  and  $3  90, 
inclusive ;  in  9,  between  $4  and  $4  90,  inclusive ;  in  7,  between  $5  and  $9  90, 
inclusive,  and  in  7,  $10  or  more. 

In  16  mines  there  is  no  cost  of  transportation  of  ore  to  mill,  the  extraction 
covering  that  expense ;  in  23  mines  the  cost  is  less  than  90  cents ;  in  7  mines 
it  is  between  $1  and  $1  90,  inclusive ;  in  6  it  is  $2  or  more. 

In  1  mill  the  cost  of  treatment  is  75  cents ;  in  14  mills  it  is  from  $1  to  $1  90, 
inclusive ;  in  19  it  is  from  $2  to  $2  90,  inclusive ;  in  9  it  is  from  $3  to  $3  90, 
inclusive,  and  in  9  it  is  $4  or  more.  The  richer  the  rock,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
more  expensive  the  treatment.  The  quartz  of  mine  No.  48,  yielding  $180  to 
the  ton,  costs  $7  for  treatment. 

Of  the  mills  visited  by  Mr.  Remond  in  1865,  38  were  not  running,  25  were 
running,  2  were  ruined,  and  2  were  unfinished.  Of  those  not  running,  some 
were  standing  idle  for  want  of  water,  others  had  exhausted  the  pay-rock  within 
sight  and  were  preparing  for  further  explorations,  and  the  owners  of  a  third 
class  had  no  expectation  of  resuming  work,  having  found  it  unprofitable,  but 
hoped  to  sell  or  intended  to  move  their  machinery. 

The  cost  of  each  of  11  mills  was  under  $2,900 ;  of  20  mills  it  was  between 
$3,000  and  $3,900,  inclusive;  of  14  it  was  between  $5,000  arid  $9,000,  in- 
clusive, and  of  14  it  was  $10,000  or  more. 

The  number  of  stamps  in  10  mills  was  4  or  less ;  in  22  mills,  between  5  and 
9,  inclusive;  in  20  mills,  between  10  and  14,  inclusive;  in  10  mills,  15  or  more. 

The  power  in  52  mills  is  water;  in  11  mills,  steam ;  in  3,  water  and  steam. 

In  31  mills  copper  plates  were  used  alone  for  amalgamating,  (outside  of  the 
battery;)  in  3  the  arrastra  was  used  alone;  in  7,  copper  plates  and  arrastra; 
and  in  26,  other  devices,  with  or  without  copper  plates  or  arrastras. 

At  25  mills  the  roads  cost  less  than  $1,000  for  each ;  at  12  mills,  between 
$1,000  and  $1,900,  inclusive;  at  4 mills,  between $2,000  and $2,500,  inclusive; 
at  1,  $6,500 ;  and  at  15,  nothing. 

At  each  of  21  mills  the  ditches  and  flumes  cost  less  than  $1,000 ;  at  13  mills 
the  cost  was  between  $1,000  and  $1,900,  inclusive;  at  3,  between  $2,000  and 
$3,900,  inclusive;  at  3,  $4,000  or  more;  and  at  14,  nothing. 

The  county  assessor  of  Nevada  county,  California,  reported  the  statistics  of 
the  quartz  mines  and  mills  of  Grass  valley  and  Nevada  for  the  year  ending 
October  1,  1866,  as  follows : 


60 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 


List  of  quartz  mines  at  Nevada  City  and  Grass  valley. 


Name  of  company. 

No.  of  rneri  em- 
ployed 

Engines. 

00 

p. 

1  ' 

02 

J& 

o 

2 

(4-1 

o 

02 

a 

1 

1, 

0}    £3 

b£    Q 

s 

•5 

GRASS  VALLEY  TOWNSHIP. 

Eureka  Mining  Company 

175 

S 

"0 

11  400 

$50 

Union  Hill  

100 

3 

4'0 

J,000 

40 

Cambridge  (new)           .  .  .. 

75 

S 

10 

40 

5 

12 

7  000 

30 

lone  .  ...  

70 

9 

10 

3  000 

20 

Forest  Springs  ............             ..     ... 

(j 

10 

4  500 

50 

Empire 

80 

4 

36 

6  000 

45 

Hewston  Hill  

65 

3 

1,500 

100 

New  Orleans  Mill  .     . 

5 

1 

8 

1  700 

Cust 

Noramba°"ua               . 

100 

1 

50 

Lone  Jack.  .... 

£5 

1 

40 

Golden  Rock,  (new)'          ..  ..........         ....... 

10 

20 

Atlantic  Cable  (new) 

4 

20 

Wisconsin  .  

40 

1 

1  000 

50 

Laton  Mill            

5 

1 

g 

5  000 

Cust 

Lucky 

50 

2 

15 

5  600 

25 

Ophir  Hill,  (new).     .   

20 

9 

Black  Ledge  .-  

1 

30 

Sebastopol 

4 

1 

12 

2  000 

Cust 

Hartery  Mine.     ......  ......  ......  ....  ......  ....  ...... 

50 

i 

8 

4,000 

20 

Central    (newj 

4 

i 

Gold  Hill  Mill 

Q 

j 

20 

2  000 

Cust 

Gold  Hill  Mine                 

10 

i 

Frankfort 

10 

200 

14 

Perrin's  Mill 

15 

5 

400 

8 

Inkerman  .....    .....             ...   ..         ...   ..          ...... 

10 

100 

25 

Lamarciue 

4 

40 

Shangliae. 

20 

200 

60 

Almaden 

15 

500 

25 

Independent   (new) 

4 

Pike  Tunnel   (new) 

10 

Burdett 

10 

i 

Badger 

20 

i 

Osborn  Hill 

30 

s 

1r> 

100 

Spring  Hill. 

20 

i 

Larimer  Mill  

4 

8 

1,000 

New  York  Hill    . 

40 

9 

500 

60 

Rocky  Bar                                                                  * 

60 

4 

in 

3,500 

23 

North  Star  

140 

3 

16 

7,  000 

30 

Merrirnac   ..         ....             .                            .... 

25 

9 

10 

2,000 

20 

Coe  Mining  Company  .  

2 

Town  Talk  Mining  Company  

10 

1 

8 

Redan  .  .       ..         .                            .... 

35 

1 

Betsey  .  

1 

60 

Alta  Hill 

1 

8 

Slate  Creek  

20 

Smith  Mining  Company  .  

40 

Murphy  Mining  Company 

5 

15 

1 

1 

Idaho  

1 

5 

1 

5 

1 

Byers's  Ouartz  Mill 

2 

4 

Shamrock  Company 

5 

600 

25 

Omaha         ,       ..  .  .  ..     .  

4 

60 

22 

Hill  and  Farnani  Metallurg.  ...... 

4 

Total.., 

1.601 

284 

71,  420 

WEST    OF  THE   ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

List  of  quartz  mines,  fyc. — Continued. 


61 


Name  of  company. 

No  of  men  em- 
ployed. 

i 

Sb 
W 

I 

.2 

OJ 

M 

o 

2 

CM 

O 
B 

1 

M 

O 

P. 

&g 

S3 

o> 

3 

NEVADAR   TOWNSHIP. 

Palmer's  'Mill 

4 

1 

4 

Gust 

I3anner                            -     .    ...............    ........... 

40 

9 

10 

Neva<la  Quartz  Minin°"  Company        ..           ....... 

30 

19 

$6 

Providence 

8 

1 

12 

1,200 

8 

Oriental 

4 

1 

8 

800 

Gust. 

Sneath  &  Clay 

55 

3 

12 

6,000 

New  York                       .....             .                         ...... 

35 

3 

3,000 

Murchie  Mill 

13 

8 

French  Mill 

4 

1 

6 

600 

Gust. 

Forest  Hill  Mill 

4 

§ 

5 

California  (new)             .    .    ........................... 

20 

1 

30 

Wigham  Mill                                     .                     •          

9 

90 

Cornish  Mill 

4 

6 

100 

30 

Pennsylvania 

0 

4 

Willow  Valley         

Gold  Tunnel 

6 

4 

Federal  Loan  .     ..................................... 

9, 

15 

Stiles's  Mill                                    .                              . 

6 

8 

2,500 

25 

Total          « 

230 

°4 

142 

14  200 

Grass  valley  is  the  most  productive  gold-quartz  mining  district  in  the  world. 
The  annual  yield  of  an  area  drawn  by  a  radius  of  four  miles  is  $3,500,000.  The 
number  of  laborers  employed  in  the  mines  and  mills  is  2,000,  showing  an  average 
yearly  production  for  each  person  of  -$1,750,  and  the  average  yield  of  the  rock 
worked  is  $30  to  $35.  The  lodes  are  narrow,  none  of  them  exceeding  seven 
feet  in  width,  and  most  being  less  than  afoot.  They  contain  much  pyrites, 
and  this  fact  contributes  with  the  narrowness  of  the  veins  to  make  the  average 
expense  of  extraction  and  reduction  high — about  $  15  per  ton.  Some  of  the  works 
have  been  sunk  to  a  depth  of  400  feet,  but  most  of  the  pay-quartz  is  obtained 
within  200  feet  of  the  surface.  • 

9.— PULVERIZATION  OF  QUARTZ. 

The  main  processes  of  quartz  mining  are  extraction,  crushing,  and  amalgama- 
tion. The  extraction  of  auriferous  quartz  from  the  vein  is  like  that  of  ores 
generally.  Any  person  familiar  with  copper  mining  can  in  a  few  days  learn  to 
be  a  good  gold  miner.  The  quantity  of  copper  ore  can  usually  be  discovered 
by  a  glance,  but  in  auriferous  quartz  it  is  often  necessary  to  pulverize  a  piece 
of  the  quartz,  and  wash  the  powder  in  a  spoon  or  little  basin  to  see  whether  it 
will  pay  to  extract.  The  cost  of  tunnels  and  shafts  for  opening  mines  in  such 
rock  as  is  usually  found  about  the  auriferous  lodes  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars 
per  lineal  foot.  * 

Ninety-live  per  cent,  of  all  the  crushing  in  California  is  done  with  stamps. 
The  stamp  is  a  block  of  iron,  weighing  from  300  to  1,500  pounds,  fastened  to  a 
wooden  or  iron  shaft,  usually  iron.  A  battery  consists  of  several  stamps  standing 
side  by  side,  and  in  most  mills  the  number  of  stamps  is  five  or  a  multiple  of 


62  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

five.  The  stamps  are  successively  lifted  by  machinery,  and  then  allowed  to  fall 
on  the  .quartz.  The  height  to  which  they  are  raised  is  from  ten  to  fifteen 
inches,  and  each  stamp  falls  from  forty  to  eighty  times  in  a  minute.  It  is  cal- 
culated that  each  stamp  should  crush  a  ton  of  quartz  of  ordinary  quality  in 
twenty-four  hours.  The  mills  usually  run  night  and  day.  Of  course,  the  amount 
of  quartz  crushed  depends  to  a  considerable  extent  on  the  hardness  of  the  rock, 
the  weight  of  the  stamp,  the  height  of  the  fall  and  the  rapidity  of  the  blows. 

The  fineness  to  which  the  rock  must  be  pulverized  depends  on  circumstances. 
The  particles  of  gold  may  be  very  fine,  so  that  the  quartz  must  be  reduced  to 
an  impalpable  powder  before  they  can  be  liberated ;  but  if  the  particles  of  gold 
and  the  grain  of  the  rock  are  coarse,  or  if  the  pulp  is  to  go  through  a  grinding 
pan,  the  quartz  may  be  allowed  to  escape  when  many  of  the  particles  are  as  coarse 
as  sea-sand,  or  even  coarser.  The  battery  has  on  one  side  a  screen  of  wire-cloth, 
or  perforated  sheet-iron,  with  apertures  of  the  size  of  the  largest  particles  that 
must  be  permitted  to  escape.  A  steady  current  of  water  runs  through  the  battery, 
so  as  to  carry  away  the  quartz  dust  as  soon  as  it  is  fine  enough.  The  sheet-iron 
screens  are  punched  with  needles,  and  are  known  by  the  numbers.  No.  7  screen 
is  punched  with  a  cambric  needle ;  No.  3  with  a  darning  needle. 

In  Grass  valley  most  of  the  mills  use  Nos.  3  and  4  screens ;  elsewhere  Nos. 
4  and  5  and  6  are  preferred. 

A  multitude  of  crushers  have  been  tried  to  break  up  the  quartz  before  it  is 
given  to  the  stamps  or  other  pulverizing  apparatus,  but  the  number  in  use  is 
very  "small.  Those  principally  in  use  consist  of  two  heavy  iron  jaws,  which  are 
wide  apart  at  the  top,  and  close  together  at  the  bottom,  and  as  they  work  back 
and  forth,  the  quartz  is  smashed  between  them.  The  quartz  is  usually  in  pieces 
not  larger  than  goose  eggs  when  delivered  to  the  battery,  and  it  is  broken  this 
size  either  by  sledge-hammers,  or  by  a  large  stamp,  kept  for  the  purpose  of 
breaking  up  the  large  stones. 

The  musket-ball  pulverizer  has  been  tried  as  a  substitute  for  stamps,  and  the 
report  is  favorable,  but  the  trial  has  not  been  sufficient  to  command  the  confi- 
dence of  miners.  It  is  an  iron  barrel  which  revolves  twenty-four  times  per  min- 
ute on  a  longitudinal,  horizontal  axis.  Inside  of  the  barrel  are  a  number  of 
chilled  iron  balls  weighing  an  ounce  each.  The  quartz  is  introduced  in  particles 
not  larger  than  a  grain  of  wheat,  and  in  two  hours  it  is  reduced  to  an  impalpable 
powder. 

Another  pulverizer,  that  has  been  tried  without  attaining  favor,  is  an  iron 
star  or  wheel  without  a  rim,  which  makes  1,000  or  1,500  revolutions  per  minute 
in  an  iron  casing.  The  quartz  is  thrown  with  great  force  by  the  arms  against 
the  casing  and  is  dashed  into  fragments  by  the  concussion.  The  casing  is  so 
made  witji  little  offsets  that  the  quartz  strikes  at  right  angles. 

10.— AMALGAMATION  OF  GOLD. 

Much  of  the  gold  is  caught  or  amalgamated  in  the  battery.  The  stamps  fall 
into  an  iron  box  or  mortar,  into  which  Efn  ounce  of  quicksilver  is  thrown  for 
every  ounce  of  gold  supposed  *o  be  in  the  quartz.  If  the  rock  is  crushed  fine 
in  the  battery,  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  all  the  gold  saved  may  be  caught 
there,  leaving  one  third  or  one-fourth  that  escapes  through  the  screen. 

After  leaving  the  battery,  the  pulverized  quartz  in  most  mills  runs  down  over 
copper  plate  which  has  been  washed  over  with  diluted  nitric  acid,  and  then 
rubbed  with  quicksilver  till  the  whole  surface  is  covered  with  amalgam.  The 
particles  of  gold  running  over  this  surface  adhere  and  form  amalgam;  and  when 
the  plate  is  covered  with  gold  it  operates  far  more  effectually  than  when  the 
quicksilver  is  fresh.  Gold  unites  more  readily  with  gold  amalgam  than  with 
pure  quicksilver,  The  copper  plate,  which  is  the  bottom  of  a  trough  or  sluice, 
may  be  fifty'or  a  hundred  feet  long.  Kustel  in  his  book  on  Nevada  and  Call- 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  63 

fornia  processes  of  silver  and  gold  extraction  (page  16)  says,  copper  plates  as  a 
means  of  amalgamation  are  "  very  imperfect  and  mostly  abandoned."  Imper- 
fect they  may  be,  but  they  are  still  used  in  most  of  the  quartz  mills  of  the  State, 
and  in  some  of  the  best,  or  at  least  in  some  of  those  which  produce  the  largest 
amounts  of  bullion. 

Between  the  copper  plates  in  many  mills  are  troughs,  in  the  bottom  of  which 
are  laid  coarse  blankets,  or  gunny-bag,  or  even  cow-hide  with  the  hair  on  and  the 
grain  against  the  stream.  Gold  amalgam  and  sulphurets  are  caught  in  the 
rough  surface  of  the  blanket,  gunny-sack,  or  hide,  which  must  be  taken  up  and 
washed  at  intervals,  which  are  usually  not  more  than  half  an  hour  long. 

The  shaking  table  used  in  amalgamation  is  a  long  box  with  transverse  divi- 
sions containing  quicksilver.  It  is  set  horizontally  and  is  shaken  longitudinally, 
receiving  from  100  to  200  short  jerks  in  a  minute.  By  these  jerks  the  pulp  is 
thrown  back  upon  the  quicksilver. 

At  the  Hayward  mine  the  pulp  runs  out  from  the  amalgamating  battery  over 
a  wide  pine  board,  across  the  grain,  and  the  appearance  of  the  amalgam  on  this 
board  is  supposed  to  give  the  best  indication  whether  the  proper  quantity  of  quick- 
silver is  being  used  in  the  battery.  If  too  much,  most  of  the  amalgam  runs  off, 
and  the  little  caught  on  the  board  is  in  brilliant  round  globules ;  and  if  not 
enough,  the  amalgam  has  a  rusty  look. 

The  arrastra  is  extensively  used  for  amalgamating,  and  it  has  the  merits  of 
cheapness,  grinding  well,  adaptability  to  any  place,  kind  of  power,  economy  of 
water,  and  facility  of  working ;  but  it  is  slow,  and  is  therefore  not  in  favor  in 
large  mills. 

Atwood's  amalgamator,  used  in  many  mills  at  Grass  valley,  consists  of  level 
troughs  with  quicksilver  at  the  bottom ;  and  over  the  troughs  are  horizontal  re- 
volving cylinders  with  projecting  spikes,  which  stir  up  the  quicksilver  and  the 
pulp  as  the  latter  passes  over  the  trough. 

.Pans  are  coming  into  use  slowly  in  the  gold  quartz  mills — at  least  in  some  of 
the  new  ones  lately  erected  in  Grass  valley.  Kiistel  says  of  pan  amalgamation 
that  it  is  "  at  present  the  most  perfect  gold  manipulation,"  and  by  it  "gold  is 
extracted  as  close  as  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  fire  assay" — that  is,  if  there  are 
no  sulphurets.  (Nevada  and  California  processes,  page  63.)  The  general 
opinion  is  that  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent,  of  the  gold  is  lost  in  the  ordinary 
processes.  The  pans  used  are  mostly  like  those  that  will  be  described  as  being 
used  in  the  silver  mills  of  Nevada.  There  is,  however,  one  pan  not  used  for  sil- 
ver reduction  that  has  found  some  favor  with  gold  miners.  This  is  Baux  and 
Guiod's  pan,  which  has  a  tight-fitting  cover.  The  pulp  runs  constantly  with  a 
stream  of  water  down  into  the  pan  through  a  tube  at  the  side,  and  the  light  mat- 
ter after  being  ground  runs  up  and  out  through  a  tube  in  the  centre.  There  is  thus 
a  constant  feed  and  discharge,  while  in  nearly  all  the  other  pans  a  batch  of  ore 
is  put  in  and  worked,  and  then  taken  out  to  make  room  for  another  batch. 

The  Rverson  amalgamator  is  an  air-tight  chamber  in  which  quartz  that  has 
been  crushed  very  fine  by  some  dry  process  is  subjected  to  the  influence  of  su- 
per-heated steam  for  half  an  hour  as  a  preparation  for  the  quicksilver,  which  is 
then  introduced  and  converted  by  the  heat  into  a  vapor,  in  which  form  it  is  sup- 
posed to  pervade  the  pulp  and  get  access  to  all  the  gold.  Cold  water  is  injected 
to  condense  the  quicksilver,  and  the  pulp  is  drawn  up  to  be  separated.  . 

11.— SULPHURETS  AND  CONCENTRATION. 

But  after  the  pulp  has  passed  through  all  the  amalgamating  processes  cus- 
tomary in  gold  quartz  mills,  it  is  found  that  in  many  ores  much  of  the  gold  is 
lost  because  of  the  presence  of  sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper.  The  presence 
of  the  sulphurets  appears  to  chill  the  quicksilver  and  prevent  it  fro^pi  taking  hold 
of  the  gold,  and  many  particles  of  gold  appear  to  be  enveloped  by  them.  The 


64  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

gold  can  be  separated  from  the  pyrites,  but  heretofore  the  separation  has  been 
effected  mainly  in  establishments  specially  devoted  to  that  purpose,  and  not  in 
the  ordinary  mills.  It  is  customary  to  save  the  sulphurets  and  sell  them  to  the 
sulphuret  works,  or  keep  them  until  there  may  be  a  sale  for  them.  But  for 
the  purpose  of  saving  them,  they  must  be  separated  from  the  earthy  and  rocky 
matter  in  the  pulp,  and  this  is  called  concentration.  Tho  sulphurets  have  a  spe- 
cific gravity  of  4.5,  while  quartz  has  a  specific  gravity  of  2.6.  By  this 
difference  in  density,  it  is  possible  to  separate  the  two. 

There  are  several  patent  concentrators  in  use,  all  made  of  ir*on,  and  shaped 
like  shallow  pans.  The  one  more  used  than  any  other  has  a  bottom  that  rises 
from  the  edge  to  the  centre,  where  there  is  an  outlet  through  which  the  lighter 
material  runs  away.  This  outlet  is,  of  course,  not  so  high  as  the  rim.  This 
pan  turns  on  a  perpendicular  axis,  and  is  shaken  back  and  forth  by  two  hun- 
dred short  jerks  per  minute.  A  hole  in  the  side  is  left  open  for  the  escape  of 
the  sulphurets,  which  flow  out  in  a  steady  stream ;  and  lower  down  is  another 
hole,  which  is  opened  when  the  heavier  matter  is  to  be  taken  out. 

One  of  the  best  cheap  concentrators  is  a  long  and  wide  rocker  with  a  flat 
bottom  and  a  slight  inclination^  A  boy  can  work  one  of  these  concentrating 
rockers  for  a  large  mill,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  machine  and  the  slight  power 
i  ^q  aired  for  it  are  great  advantages.  The  sulphurets  are  arrested  by  cleets  in 
the  bottom  of  the  rocker,  and  need  to  be  taken  out  at  intervals  of  half  an  hour. 

Any  sluice  serves  also,  to  some  extent,  for  concentration. 

12.— CHLORINATION. 

The  most  approved  method  of  reducing  auriferous  sulphurets  is  chlorination. 
As  a  preparation  for  this  process  the  sulphurets  are  roasted.  They  are  placed 
in  an  oven  brought  to  a  red  heat,  retained  in  that  condition  for  about  six  hours, 
or  until  the  smell  of  sulphur  has  disappeared.  After  they  have  cooled  the  sul- 
phurets are  sprinkled  with  water,  shovelled  over,  and  put  into  wooden  tubs  or 
boxes,  so  made  that  chlorine  gas  can  be  introduced  at  the  bottom  and  made  to 
rise  all  through  the  mass.  The  tub  or  box  is  kept  closely  covered,  and  chloride 
of  gold,  which  is  soluble  in  water,  is  formed.  After  the  lapse  of  four  or  five 
hours  water  is  let  in,  and  the  chloride  of  gold  is  dissolved  by  it ;  the  solution  is 
drawn  off  into  glass  vessels,  and  some  sheets  of  iron  are  put  in ;  the  chlorine 
unites  with  the  iron,  and  the  gold  falls  as  a  purplish-brown  powder  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  vessel. 

13.— GOLD  IN  LOOSE  STATE. 

Gold  mines  are  divided  into  the  two  main  classes  of  quartz  and  placer,  but  at 
Whiskey  Hill,  near  the  town  of  Lincoln,  in  Placer  county,  about  thirty  miles 
from  Sacramento,  a  large  mass  of  loose  slate  rock  is  found,  containing  consider- 
able pyrites  and  about  six  dollars  of  gold  to  the  ton.  The  material  is  so  soft 
that  eight  tons  can  be  crushed  by  a  stamp  in  a  day.  It  is  supposed  that  below 
the  water-line  a  vein  of  hard  auriferous  copper  ore  will  be  found.  The  mass  of 
auriferous  slate  in  the  hill  is  large,  and  the  mine  is  considered  very  valuable, 
one-half  of  it  having  been  sold  for  $175,000.  Similar  bodies  of  auriferous  slate 
mixed  with  clay  are  found  at  Lander's  ranch,  Placer  county,  and  at  Telegraph 
City,  im  Calaveras  county. 

14.— PLACERS. 

Placer  mining  is  decreasing  every  year.  Every  month  witnesses  the  exhaustion 
of  some  rich  placer  district,  or  its  exhaustion  at  least  for  the  present.  It 
may  be  that  in  the  future,  when  laborers  can  be  employed  for  fifty  cents  per 
day,  claims  which  cannot  be  worked  now  will  be  in  demand. 

There  are  Iftrge  bodies  of  gravel  that  contain  just  gold  enough  not  to  pay, 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  65 

at  the  present  rates  of  water  and  labor,  and  it  is  evident  that  both  must  be 
cheaper  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years. 

But  although  land  might  pay  the  miner,  it  may  pay  the  farmer  still  better, 
and  the  State  should  give  every  preference  to  the'  latter,  who  beautifies  and  en- 
riches the  soil,  while  the  miner  destroys  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  continuous  decline  of  the  placer  mining  interest  for  ten 
years  past,  there  are  yet,  and  long  will  be,  very  rich  placers.  Some  of  the  de- 
posits of  gold  in  clay  and  gravel  are  so  protected  that  a  score  of  years  may 
elapse  before  they  can  be  reached.  On  the  sides  and  near  the  base  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  are  innumerable  hills  that  are  destined  to  come  down  before  the  hy- 
draulic pipe  of  the  miner.  One  of  these  hills  commences  near  the  town  of  You 
Bet,  in  Nevada  county,  and  extends  sixteen  miles  up  the  mountain  side,  with  a 
height  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  a  width  of  a  mile ;  au£  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  foundation  throughout  its  length  is  a  bed  of  rich  auriferous  cement. 

15.— CEMENT  MINING. 

The  cement  deposit  is  a  stratum  of  very  tough  clay  enclosing  gravel  and 
boulders  ;  and  the  clay  is  so  stubborn  that  it  will  not  dissolve  in  a  sluice-box, 
and  it  has  been  necessary  to  crush  it  in  mills.  The  material  is  heterogeneous  ; 
the  clay  is  soft  under  the  stamp ;  some  of  the  gravel  is  hard,  and  other  soft. 
The  gravel  is  not  auriferous,  but  it  must  be  crushed,  so  as  to  permit  the  crush- 
ing of  the  clay.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  separate  the  stones  from 
the  remainder  of  the  mass  without  crushing  them,  but  without  success.  As  the 
stones  contain  no  gold,  all  the  power  spent  in  crushing  them  is  lost ;  but  at 
present  there  is  no  other  way,  nor  is  it  probable  that  any  mode  of  separation 
can  be  devised.  One  stamp  will  crush  from  four  to  six  tons  of  cement  per  day, 
and  the  cement  stamps  are  only  about  half  as  heavy  as  quartz  stamps.  The 
pulverization  is  not  so  fine  as  in  quartz  ;  the  sheet-iron  screen  through  which  the 
cement  pulp  escapes  is  punched  with  holes  that  vary  from  a  sixteenth  to  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  size.  The  particles  of  clay  that  escape  are  so  small  that 
they  are  easily  dissolved  in  the  water.  The  gold  is  caught  in  the  battery,  and 
that  which  escapes  through  the  screen  is  caught  in  the  sluice.  It  is  a  singular 
fact  that  many  of  the  hills  of  the  present  day  stand  upon  the  beds  and  precisely 
indicate  the  course  of  the  streams  of  a  former  geological  epoch.  The  existence 
of  a  layer  of  basalt  or  volcanic  rock  along  the  top  of  these  hills  indicates  that 
currents  of  lava  followed  the  streams,  and  after  hardening  protected  the  gravel 
under  them  from  being  washed  away  by  the  great  aqueous  agencies  which  wore 
down  the  rock  and  earth  in  the  neighborhood  to  a  depth  of  more  than  two  thou- 
sand feet  in  some  places.  So  common  are  auriferous  channels  under  the  hills 
that  the  term  "rim  rock"  has  long  been  in  common  use  among  miners  to  indi- 
cate that  part  of  the  bed  rock  which  separates  the  lowest  portions  of  the  channel 
from  the  outside  of  the  hill  on  both  sides.  In  some  districts  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that  if  a  tunnel  is  cut  into  a  basalt- covered  hill  at  the  proper  elevation 
the  channel  of  the  ancient  river  will  be  found. 

16.— HYDRAULIC  MINING. 

Most  of  the  placer  gold  of  California  is  obtained  by  hydraulic  mining ;  the 
most  profitable  placer  claims,  as  a  class,  are  those  worked  by  the  hydraulic  pro- 
cess ;  and  the  most  prosperous  mining  counties  are  those  which  have  the 
largest  areas  suitable  for  piping.  The  yield  in  some  of  the  claims  is  as  $100 
per  day  to  the  hand,  and  occasionally  twice  or  thrice  as  much,  but  the  average 
is  probably  $10  or  $15,  of  which  about  half  goes  to  pay  for  wages,  water,  and 
other  expenses. 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 5 


66  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

17.— RIVER  MINING. 

Nearly  all  the  river  beds  have  been  washed,  but  they  are  washed  over  and 
over  again.  The  rivers  are  to  be  regarded  as  large  sluices  into  which  all  the 
Nfine  gold  that  escapes  from  the  adjacent  mining  operations  is  carried  and  de- 
posited ;  and  thus  there  are  some  river  beds  that  pay  for  a  short  time  to  wash 
every  year.  The  yield,  however,  is  not  large,  and  miners  take  to  the  rivers 
only  as  a  last  resort. 

In  Trinity  and  Klamath  counties,  California,  there  is  a  large  area  of  ground 
that  is  comparatively  undeveloped ;  and  that  is  the  best  region  in  the  State  for 
the  miner  who  wants  to  work  on  his  own  account,  and  on  a  small  scale.  The 
country  is  rugged,  the  climate  wet  and  cold,  the  roads  bad,  and  there  is  some 
danger  of  Indians ;  but  on  the  other  hand  there  is  much  gold  to  reward  the 
skilful  miner  who  is  willing  to  face  the  hardships  and  dangers  of -the  place. 

18.— THE  HAYWARD  QUARTZ  MINE. 

The  Hay  ward  claim  is  one  of  the  notable  mines  of  California.  It  is  situated 
on  Sntter  creek,  Amador  county.  The  vein  is  peculiar  in  its  character. 

The  quartz  is  in  places  almost  a  powder,  and  is  mixed  with  slate  and  clay. 
The  length  of  the  ground  worked  is  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  yards,  and 
both  north  and  south  the  vein  seems  almost  to  disappear.  The  average  yield 
of  the  rock  is  not  high,  although  some  very  rich  and  beautiful  specimens  have 
been  found  in  it.  The  mine  has  been  worked  since  1851,  and  the  rock  has  al- 
ways given  a  good  average  yield,  but  it  is  during  the  last  eight  years  that  the 
mine  has  risen  to  much  importance.  The  total  product  is  stated  to  be  $6,000,000. 

The  yield  per  ton  and  the  width  of  the  vein  have  been  gradually  increasing, 
and  now  at  a  depth  of  1,200  feet  the  former  is  $25,  and  the  latter  twenty-five 
feet.  The  works  are  by  far  the  deepest  in  the  State,  and  as  the  mouth  of  the 
mine  is  estimated  to  be  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  the  lowest  works  must 
be  three  hundred  below  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  Professor  Whitney  speaks 
thus  of  the  mine,  in  the  first  volume  of  his  geological  report,  written  several 
years  ago  :  "  The  vein  is  enclosed  in  a  dark-colored,  rather  soft  argillaceous 
slate.  In  the  Eureka  the  mass  of  vein  stone  is  from  eight  to  twenty  feet  wide, 
but  in  the  Badger  it  widens  out  suddenly  to  forty  feet. 

"  The  length  of  ground  worked  in  both  mines  is  about  four  hundred  and  sev- 
enty feet ;  to  the  south  of  the  Badger  shaft,  which  is  on  the  south  end  of  the 
mine,  there  is  hardly  any  quartz  to  be  seen,  and  the  lode,  which  is  eight  feet 
wide  on  the  north  side  of  the  Eureka,  pinches  out  very  rapidly  in  that  direc- 
tion, so  that  the  body  of  quartz  worked  is  very  short  in  proportion  to  its  great 
width,  being  almost  a  column,  or  chimney,  rather  than  a  vein.  At  the  junction 
of  the  two  veins  there  is  a  large  mass  of  slate  and  soft  clay  mixed  with  a  little 
quartz,  which  is  often  in  a  state  of  fine  powder.  * 

"  Few  if  any  mines  in  the  State  have  been  more  uniformly  and  permanently 
successful,  while  the  yield  of  gold  to  the  ton  of  rock  stamped  is  quite  low." 

19.-SIERRA  BUTTES  MINE. 

The  Sierra  Buttes  quartz  mine  is  one  of  the  most  noted  and  most  valuable 
mines  in  the  State.  It  is  situated  at  an  elevation  of  6,000  feet,  on  the  south- 
western slope  of  the  Downieville  Butte,  and  twelve  miles  from  the  town  of  Dow- 
nievilie.  There  are  two  lodes,  but  most  of  the  auriferous  rock  is  obtained  from 
the  cliff  ledge,  which  averages  about  twenty  feet  in  width,  and  of  this  about 
eleven  feet  in  thickness  on  an  average  are  worked.  In  some  places  the  pay 
streak  is  only  two  feet  wide,  in  others  seventeen.  The  average  yield  of  the 
quartz  is  about  eighteen  dollars  per  ton. 

Thfe  quartz  is  bluish  white  in  color,  and  is  very  hard  when  first  taken  out, 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  67 

but  it  crumbles  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  time.  The  gold  is 
disseminated  in  small  particles  through  the  rock,  and  in  most  of  the  quartz  the 
metal  is  scarcely  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  There  are  few  sulphurets,  and  there- 
fore amalgamation  is  easy.  About  two -thirds  of  the  gold  is  caught  with  quick- 
silver in  the  batteries,  after  leaving  which  the  pulverized  quartz  is  carried  by 
water  over  about  a  hundred  feet  of  copper  plate  covered  with  quicksilver,  and 
then  over  a  blanket,  below  which  are  some  arrastras  which  are  owned  by  differ- 
ent parties  who  pay  for  the  tailings  and  the  water. 

The  following  is  an  authentic  statement  of  the  annual  yield,  expenses,  and 
dividends  since  the  mine  came  into  the  possession  of  the  present  company : 

Years.  Yield.  Expenses.        Dividends. 

1857 $51,000         $15,000         $36,000 

1858 55, 000  15, 000  40,  000 

1859... 88,000  20,000  68,000 

1860 120,  000  37, 000  83, 000 

1861 198,000  48,000         150,000 

1862 166,000  54,000         112,000 

1803 156,000  57,000  99,000 

1864 90,  000  75,  000  1,5,  000 

1865 ,.    196,000  64,000         132,000 

No  assessments  have  ever  been  levied.  The  produce  of  the  mine  has  paid  for 
all  the  improvements.  The  yield  in  1866  is  better  than  ever;  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  lode  has  remained  almost  the  same  wherever  they  have  worked  it, 
without  notable  difference  between  the  surface  and  the  deepest  workings. 

20.— THE  ALLISON  MINE,  &c. 

The  Allison  mine  at  Grass  valley  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  productive 
in  the  State.     It  had  been  worked  with  almost  uniform  profit  for  the  ten  years 
The  average  thickness  of  the  lode  is  about  eighteen  inches,  and  the  rock  yield 
from  $30  to  $150  per  ton.     According  to  the  best  information  obtainable  by  tl. 
State  geological  survey  14,858  tons  were  reduced  between  March,  1857,  ar 
December,  1861,  and  the  average  yield  was  $50  per  ton  or  $942,900  in  a 
Since  the  summer  of  1862  the  mine  pays  better  than  before.    The  lowest  wo 
ings  are  nearly  500  feet  deep,  and  the  lode  at  that  depth  is  three  feet  wide,  w 
rock  that  averages  $100  to  the  ton.      The  owners  refuse  to  give  any  sta 
ments  of  their  receipts  or  expenditures,  but  the  men  employed  in  the  mill  s 
the  yield  is  $40,000  per  month,  or  $400,000  for  ten  months'  work  in  a  yea 
and  of  this  sum  two-thirds  or  more  is  clear  profit.     The  claim  has  been  work 
for  a  length  of  about  1,400  feet. 

The  Norambague  mine  at  Grass  valley  has  yielded  more  than  half  a  milli 
dollars  in  the  last  five  years.  The  average  yield  of  the  ore  is  about  $75  p 
ton.  The  deepest  workings  are  500  feet  from  the  surface,  and  drifts  have  be 
run  J  ,000  feet  along  the  course  of  the  lode. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  operations  of  the  Eureka  mine  at  Gr< 
valley  for  the  year  ending  September  30,  1866  : 

Receipts  from  bullion $531,  431 

Total  expenditures  at  mine 192,  648 

Dividends 90,  000 

Net  profits 368,  042 

Tons  of  quartz  crushed 11,  375  I 

Average  yield  per  ton 47  li 

Average  cost  per  ton  crushed 14  80 

Average  cost  of  1,500  tons 18  00 

Average  cost  of  remainder  per  ton 13  75 


68 


RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  operations  of  the  same  mine  for  four  months 
ending  September  30,  1866: 

Receipts  from  bullion $248,  072  55 

Dividends 90,  000  00 

Total  expenditures  at  mine 69,  430  04 

Net  product  of  mine 187,  751  72 

Tons  of  quartz  crushed 

Average  yield  per  ton 


4,227  00 
60  33 

The  Rocky  Bar  claim  on  Massachusetts  Hill,  near  Grass  valley,  has  produced 
about  $1,500,000  in  the  last  six  years. 

The  Princeton  vein,  in  Mariposa  county,  has  yielded  $2,000,000  within  the 
last  twelve  years,  but  lately  it  has  produced  very  little,  and  for  a  time  work  on 
it  was  abandoned. 

21.— THE  SMARTSVILLE  BLUE  GRAVEL  COMPANY'S  MINE. 

The  richest  placer  mine  in  the-  State  is  that  of  the  Blue  Gravel  Mining  Com- 
pany, at  Smartsville,  in  Yuba  county.  The  yield  since  March,  1864,  has  been 
as  follows : 


1864.  March $9,381 

May 24,275 

June 7,000 

July 22,350 

August 3,485 

September 49,  440 

October 24,  669 

December 45,  093 

1865.  January 2,  723 

February 24,  051 

March 44,981 


1865.  May $24,  000 

June 50,  118 

August 24,679 

September 46,  500 

October 26,660 

December 37,000 

February 23,746 

April , 43,423 

June 23,880 

August 42,494 


1866. 


Total 599,948 


The  gold  is  obtained  only  when  the  sluice  is  cleaned  up  ;  and  the  cleaning  up 
occurs  sometimes  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  months,  and  there  is  no  yield  for 
the  intervening  months.  The  claim  will  continue  to  pay  for  many  years,  and 
probably  it  will  be  richer  than  ever,  for  the  miners  have  not  yet  reached  the  bed 
rock.  The  claim  covers  an  area  of  about  a  hundred  acres  on  a  long  hill  or 
ridge  that  stands  over  the  bed  of  an  ancient  stream.  The  hill  is  made  up  of 
numerous  layers  of  gravel,  sand  and  boulders,  with  a  rim  of  rock  at  the  bottom 
on  each  side  of  the  hill.  To  get  access  to  the  auriferous  deposit  it  was  neces- 
sary to  cut  a  tunnel  1,700  feet  long  through  the  rim  rock.  This  work  was  com- 
menced in  February,  1855,  by  the  company,  which  had  a  capital  of  $20,000. 
This  sum  was  soon  expended  in  cutting  a  tunnel,  which  in  places  cost  $100  per 
lineal  foot,  and  then  money  was  borrowed  and  the  debt  ran  up  gradually  to 
$60,000,  so  that  at  the  end  of  1859  the  company  had  spent  $80,000  and  nearly 
five  years  of  hard  labor,  with  no  certainty  of  any  return.  In  1857  they  began 
to  wash  some  of  the  gravel  in  the  higher  portions  of  the  claim,  and  the  expense 
was  greater  than  the  yield  for  more  than  two  years;  but  in  1860  this  washing 
commenced  to  yield  a  profit,  and  in  three  years  more  the  debt  xvas  reduced  from 
$60,000  to  $20,000.  In  December,  1863,  the  tunnel  reached  the  pay-dirt,  and 
then  it  was  necessary  to  sink  an  incline  down  from  the  top  of  the  hill  so  that 
the  dirt  could  be  carried  off  by  the  water  through  the  tunnel.  It  was  a  difficult 
matter  to  open  this  incline  to  so  great  a  depth  and  get  it  into  such  condition  that 
there  was  no  danger  of  the  earth  falling  in  and  choking  up  the  channel  or  kill- 


WEST  OF  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  69 

ing  the  miners ;  but  at  last  this  was  accomplished,  and  since  then  the  company 
have  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  gold.  They  are  using  500  inches  (miners'  mea- 
surement) of  water  per  day,  under  a  head  pressure  of  150  feet,  at  a  cost  of  $75 
per  day.  They  use  125,000  pounds  of  powder  annually  in  blasting  to  loosen 
the  earth  so  that  the  water  can  wash  it  away  readily.  A  steady  current,  eight 
inches  deep  and  three  feet  wide,  of  mud,  estimated  to  contain  four  inches  in  depth 
of  solid  matter,  runs  through  their  sluice,  and  they  use  three  tons  of  quicksilver 
at  one  time  to  catch  their  gold  They  have  sluiced  away  an  area  of  twenty 
acres,  100  feet  deep,  and  they  have  built  in  all  four  miles  of  fluming,  much  of 
which  is  not  now  in  use.  They  expended  880,000  on  their  first  tunnel  and 
have  commenced  another  lower  down.  It  will  cost  $75,000  and  will  require 
three  years  for  completion. 

The  flume  now  in  use  is  3,000  feet  long,  and  is  paved  alternately  with  wooden 
blocks  set  on  end  and  flat  stones  set  on  the  edge.  The  sections  of  block  paving 
extend  across  the  flume,  and  seventeen  inches  longitudinally,  and  the  sections 
of  stone  paving  are  two  feet  long.  The  flume  has  an  inclination  of  six  and  one- 
half  inches  in  twelve  feet. 

This  company  is  the  only  one  which  has  mined  steadily  for  ten  years  in  the 
Smartsville  district,  with  a  profit  for  the  whole  period.  Many  other  companies 
have  spent  immense  sums  of  money  and  obtained  no  return.  Others  have 
made  a  profit  for  a  year  or  two,  but  the  general  result  has  been  failure.  The 
Blue  Gravel  company  succeeded  only  by  the  extraordinary  and,  it  might  almost 
be  said,  the  unbusiness  indulgence  of  their  creditors,  who  might  at  any  time  for 
a  period  of  seven  years  have  come  and  taken  the  claim.  As  late  as  1862  the 
shares  in  the  company  were  selling  at  the  rate  of  $11,000  for  the  whole  claim. 
When  the  enterprise,  the  patience,  the  perseverance,  the  privations,  the  risks 
of  failure,  the  hard  labor  of  nine  unprofitable  years,  the  faithful  devotion  of  the 
stockholders  to  one  another,  and  the  generous  trust  of  the  creditors  are  consid- 
ered, it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Blue  Gravel  company  have  abundantly  mer- 
ited all  their  success.  Many  other  claims  of  less  value  have  cost  their  owners 
proportionately  as  much  in  money,  labor,  and  patience. 

22.— PROFITS  OF  MINING  GENERALLY. 

The  business  of  mining  has  not  been  in  any  branch  a  source  of  much  profit 
to  the  majority  of  those  who  have  undertaken  it  in  California.  The  proportion 
of  California  miners  who  have  made  fortunes  within  the  last  fifteen  years  is 
much  less  than  that  of  the  Illinois  farmers.  One  of  the  chief  sources  of  wealth 
in  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  has  been  the  increase  in  the 
value  of  land,  but  in  the  mining  districts  hitherto  there  was  little  land  to  which 
a  fee-simple  title  could  be  obtained.  The  largest  income  in  the  State  of  1865 
is  that  of  Jules  Tricot,  who  made  in  that  year  $182,511  by  quartz  mining  and 
the  sale  of  quarts  mines,  and  the  third  largest  is  that  of  James  P.  Pierce,  who 
made  $102,011  in  placer  mining.  When,  however,  we  come  to  examine  the 
incomes  of  the  miners  generally  we  find  that  they  are  small. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  adult  white  men  in  some  of  the 
mining  counties,  and  the  number  of  those  who  pay  tax  on  an  income  of  $1,800 
or  more,  reckoned  in  legal  tender : 

Counties.  No.  white  miners.  No.  incomes  $1,800. 

Del  Norte 250  None. 

Klamath 700  5 

Trinity 700  10 

Siskiyen 2,500  24 

Shasta 1,000  17 

Plumas 1,000  9 

Butte 1,000  13 


70 


RESOURCES  OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


Counties.  No.  white  miners. 

Sierra 2,500 

Nevada 3,000 

Placer 1,800 

El  Dorado 2,000 

Amador 1,200 


No.  incomes  $1,800. 

45 
148 
66 
33 
18 


An  examination  of  the  lists  shows  that  most  of  these  who  have  these  incomes 
are  not  miners,  and  that  the  proportion  of  those  who  have  large  incomes  is 
greater  in  the  agricultural  districts  and  in  the  towns  than  in  the  mines.  As  a 
matter  of  curiosity,  the  list  of  incomes  of  Nevada  county  for  1865  is  here  ap- 
pended, with  the  names  of  those  who  derive  their  incomes  from  quartz  marked 
with  an  asterisk,  and  those  who  derive  their  incomes  from  placers  marked  with 
a  dagger. 

NEVADA  COUNTY. 


Anderson,  John* $2,063 

Alger,  Moxtont 6,341 

Alexander,  Dt 1,000 

Abbey,  Richardt 2,5J5 

Belden,  David 4,868 

Bales,  C.  M 2,580 

Bigelow,  E.  W 2,400 

Bigelow,  E.W 3,689 

Byrne,  James 2,490 

Brady,  A.  B* 4,708 

Binkleman,  D 2,064 

Bennett,  John 2,058 

Boury,  Gt '.-  3,756 

Brown,  J.  H 7,274 

Baylis,  J.  H* 2,234 

Black,  R.  Ct 1,804 

Bell,  V.  Gt 2,138 

Colley,  James 1,983 

Crawford,  W.  H 4,124 

Clark,  Jonathan 4,291 

Cashin,  John 5,020 

Cohn,  Jacob 1,898 

Coleman,  Edwardt 7,790 

Coleman,  J.  C* 7,768 

Corbett,  E.  S 2,963 

Caldwell,  J.  J 1,800 

Cliff,  William* 5,280 

Connolly,  Ellen* 33,119 

Corbett,  John* 4,736 

Colbert,  Michael* 4,735 

Curmack,  Ht 4,619 

Crull,  S.  Mt 4,799 

dull,  J.  St 5,362 

Cadwalader,  Nt 27,190 

Deal,  M.  S 2,400 

Davenport,  T.  T 5,120 

Delano.  A w 7,500 

Dorsey,  S.  P 2,150 

Dibble,A.  B 3,654 

Daniel,  William* 6,024 

Dornin,  George  D 3,410 

Dikeman,  S.  Ht 2,032 

Enright,  Michaelt 2,738 

Edwards,  J.  R* 2,654 

Eddy,  A.  Ht 3,138 

Everett,  Henry* 13,829 

Effinger,  John  Ht 3,400 

Ennis,  Frankt 2,875 

Finninger,  R 3,420 

Farquhar,  R.  H 5,400 

Fiicot,  J* 182,511 


Findler,  Thomas* $13,051 

Faulkner,  James 3,090 

Ford,  Marin* 3,546 

Fahey,  John* 9,561 

Fogarty,  Park* 40,  058 

Furtt,  Simon 1,900 

Furtt,  Daniel 1,900 

Felton,  Dt 1,913 

Gregory.  A.  B 1,900 

Gepeard,  George 5,639 

Gad,  B 1,898 

Galaway,  Philip* 3,544 

Greenwell,  J.  Wt 2,525 

Greenwell,  S.  Jt 3,275 

Gaskill,  J.  Lt 7,546 

Hawley,  T.  P 4,298 

Hinds,  J.  W 3,131 

Hamiston,  M.  S 5,960 

Hunt,  R.  M 4,825 

Hodue,  Thomas 2,458 

Hasken,  William* 2,  393 

Hunter,  John  Rt 1,328 

Henry,  Samuel  Tt 2,335 

Henderson,  H 2,000 

Henry,  Williamt 2,294 

Johnston,  Peter 2,528 

Johnston,  John 2, 528 

Judsion,  Orint 3,428 

Judson,  Harw'dt 3, 558 

Kidd,  George  W* 3,749 

Keeney,  George 2, 275 

Leavitt,  C.  C 5,079 

Loutgenhisee,  W* 6,  025 

Larimer,  John* 3, 150 

Lee,  S.  Wt.., 1,834 

'Lloyd,  Thomas* 3,200 

Leech,  Charles* 4,900 

Lauey,  Thomast 13, 784 

Mackie,  H 8,731 

Marvillus,  E.  Pt 2,609 

Marsh,  M.  L 2,6oO 

McFarlan,  T.  B 5,260 

Marsh,  Charles 4,  475 

Mason,  James  B 2,523 

Maguire,  Thomas 3, 526 

McDonald,  Gt 1,900 

Mull,  E.  Wt...' 1,960 

Morian,  F* 7,908 

Northy,  Et 10,610 

Nathan,  B* 2,113 

Nickell,  G.  W 2,888 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  71 

O'Connor,  M.  P $3,548  Stone,  J.  P $1,936 

Pierce,  A* 6,900  Smith,  C.  C •_• ],963 

Peiry,  S.  E 3,850  Swan,  A.  Bt..... 6,889 

Phillips,  Henry 5,713  Shardin,  Chariest 1,893 

Pralus,  A* 89,681  Spooner,  G.  Ct 8,019 

Pollnier,  Henryt 3,150  Smith,  Francis 3,275 

Quine,  Patrick! 14,313  Smith,  Jacob 1,900 

Richards,  F 1,833  Sheets,  L.  Ft 2,840 

Roads,  W.  H* 5,168  Tisdale,  W.  L* 4,884 

Ripert,  S* 80,096  Torson,  O 3,104 

Roberts,  D.  G* 31,400  Tower,  A.  D 3,806 

Remington,  M.  L* 2,278  Tully,  R.  W 2,840 

Rosmussan,  P*.. 2,434  Turner,  G.  E 1,900 

Rosendale,  C.  Et  .--- 4,966  Trenberth,  J* 3,428 

Spence,  E.  F 2,650  Thomas,  Johnt 2,055 

Sargent,  A.  A 5,321  Villian,  Bt 4,363 

Swithenback,  J 2,465  Whartenby,  Jt 25,105 

Scaddin,  Henry* 2,951  Werte,  E.  G 2,494 

Silvester,  H* 4,000  Watt,  Robert* 42,890 

Shaffer,  George 2,453  Watt,  William* 42,794 

Smith,  C.  W 2,400  Whiting,  L.  L* 2,750 

Smith,  John 2,588  Williams,  Et 8,575 

Smith,  Robert 2,588  Weil,  A 2,960 

This  list  is  marked  by  a  gentleman  well  acquainted  in  the  county,  but  a 
few  of  those  whose  names  are  not  marked  may  be  miners.  It  appears  that  out 
of  148  names,  42  of  those  are  quartz  miners  and  40  of  placer  miners.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  Nevada  is  the  most  prosperous  and  the  most 
productive  mining  county  in  California,  and  that  the  proportion  of  large  incomes 
among  the  miners  is  greater  than  elsewhere. 

23.— DIFFICULTY  OF  GETTING  GOOD  CLAIMS. 

A  fact  which  should  never  be  overlooked  on  the  Atlantic  slope  by  persons 
who  speak  of  mining  is,  that  a  good  claim  cannot  be  had  by  merely  making  an 
effort  to  get  one.  It  costs -as  much  effort  generally  as  it  costs  to  get  a  good 
farm,  or  more.  If  the  claim  is  open  and  its  value  is  established,  it  can  only  be 
bought  at  a  high  price.  If  it  is  not  open,  years  may  be  spent  in  opening  it,  and 
then  it  may  prove  to  be  barren  at  last.  That  has  been  the  experience  of  thou- 
sands. A  list  of  the  expensive  tunnels  and  shafts  undertaken  in  California  and 
Nevada  would  include  numerous  failures  after  years  of  time  and  scores  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  had  been  devoted  to  the  labor.  These  things  are  not  written, 
because  few  want  to  publish  their  own  failures  or  to  read  about  those  of  others ; 
and  a  number  of  those  who  own  mines  famous  for  their  rich  yields  had  to  strug- 
gle along  for  years,  barely  paying  expenses  and  exposed  to  the  jeers  or  the  pity 
of  their  acquaintances  for  their  obstinacy  in  sticking  to  claims  that  could  never, 
it  was  said,  be  made  to  pay.  It  is  unjust  to  the  miner  to  assume  that  he  is 
taking  the  public  property  without  compensation.  In  most  cases  he  has  more 
than  paid  for  it  by  his  labor,  and  although  it  may  not  yield  him  a  good  income, 
it  is  no  more  than  a  fair  return  for  his  enterprise  and  industry,  and  he  should  be 
allowed  to  enjoy  it  as  a  proper  encouragement  to  others  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  development  of  other  mines.  Many,  indeed,  think  that  even  with  unre- 
strained liberty  to  take  the  precious  metals  from  the  public  lands,  and  with  entire 
exemption  from  taxation,  the  pay  of  the  miner  is  less  than  that  of  any  other 
equally  industrious  and  intelligent  body  of  laborers  in  the  country. 

24.— COMSTOCK  LODE  THE  MOST  PRODUCTIVE  IN  THE  WORLD. 

Although  some  rich  argentiferous  veins  have  been  discovered  in  California, 
Idaho,  and  Arizona,  they  have  not  been  developed  sufficiently  to  enable  us  to 
say  much  of  them ;  and  our  remarks  on  the  condition  of  silver  mining  on  the 
coast  must  be  based  chiefly  upon  the  business  as  conducted  in  Nevada.  During 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 


the  last  three  years  there  lias  been  no  increase  in  the  production,  but  the  gen- 
eral condition  is  very  satisfactory.  The  Comstock  lode  is  now  the  most  pro- 
ductive mineral  vein  in  the  world.  A  strip  of  land  six  hundred  yards  wide  and 
three  miles  long  yields  $12,000,000  annually. '  There  is  no  parallel  to  that  in 
ancient  or  modern  times.  The  other  richest  silver  mining  districts  of  the  present 
century,  such  as  Guanajuato,  Zaeatecas,  Sombrerete,  Durango,  Chihauhau, 
Alamos,  Real  del  Monte,  Potosi,  Cero  Paseo,  and  Chanarcillo,  do  not  produce 
more  than  about  $20,000,000  each  annually,  and  the  Comstock  lode  is  now  con- 
tributing more  silver  to  the  commerce  of  the  world  than  any  other  four  lodes. 
The  total  number  of  men  employed  in  the  mines  and  mills  to  obtain  this  metal 
is  about  5,000,  giving  an  average  annual  yield  of  $2,500  for  each.  The  ore  is 
not  so  rich  nor  so  abundant  as  it  has  been  in  some  Mexican  lodes,  but  a  greater 
yield  has  been  obtained  by  employing  more  machinery.  The  general  custom 
of  the  Mexican  mines  has  been  to  employ  men  to  carry  the  ore  U£  out  of  the 
mine  on  their  backs,  and  to  transport  it  from  the  mine  to  the  mill  on  mules,  to 
pulverize  it  by  mule  power,  and  to  stir  it  during  amalgamation  by  tramping 
with  the  feet  of  men  or  mules.  If  water  invaded  the  works  it  was  hoisted  by 
hand  or  by  horse  whims.  Thus  a  Mexican  mine  required  a  hundred  men  to  do 
the  work  that  can  be  done  in  a  Nevada  mine  by  twenty,  and  it  was  difficult  to 
make  room  for  a  hundred  men  to  work  within  such  narrow  limits.  Either  they 
were  continually  in  the  way  of  one  another  or  most  of  them  discharged,  and  the 
work  advanced  with  corresponding  slowness. 

The  leading  mines  at  Virginia  City  are  marvellous  for  the  extent  of  their 
works  and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  extract  and  reduce  the  ore.  The  chief 
gold  mines  of  California,  high  as  their  product  is,  are  small  affairs  when  com- 
pared with  the  vast  works  of  the  chief  silver  companies  of  Nevada. 

25.— COMSTOCK  MINING  COMPANIES. 

S.  H.  Marlette,  surveyor  general  of  the  State,  in  his  official  report  for  the 
year  1865,  gives  the  following  list  of  the  mining  companies  on  the  Comstock 
lode,  with  the  accompanying  statistics  and  remarks : 


Companies. 

Length  in  feet. 

Greatest  depth 
reached. 

Length  of  lode 
explored. 

Utah  

1,000 

260 

300 

Allen 

925 

200 

300 

Sierra  Nevada                                                                                 - 

2  157 

410 

400 

Union  .   

302 

80 

(*) 

Opbir  N  mine 

1,200 

428 

400 

Mexican 

100 

6^0 

100 

Ophiv  S.  mine                    .  .................           .  .......... 

900 

620 

200 

Central 

150 

428 

150 

California 

300 

428 

300 

Empire,  N                      .     

55 

600 

55 

Eclipse                               .  ' 

30 

1595 

30 

20 

1595 

20 

20 

550 

20 

Pl^to                                          

10 

550 

10 

20 

550 

20 

Piute     ....  .             ..  -.  

20 

550 

20 

Winters  &  Kutstel                 .                    .   

30 

585 

30  ' 

Consolidated  21  feet                            ....                                     .... 

21 

585 

21 

300 

360 

100 

Kinney                   .           .       .................        ...    ......... 

50 

369 

(*) 

\\Tliitc  &  Murphy                  ............                              .     .... 

210 

369 

120 

*1  cross  cut.            {Evidently  an  error,  and  much 

too  large. 

WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


73 


List  of  the  mining  companies  on  the  Comstock  lode,  Sfc.—  Continued. 


Companies. 

1 

.2 

ID 

§ 
£ 

rG 

A 

!1 

"co  *3 

Si 

02  }-i 

o 

Length  of  lode 
explored. 

Sides                   

500 

500 

200 

Best  &  Belcher                                          .     ..         

222 

469 

222 

Grould  &  Curry 

921 

84>1 

921 

768 

496 

768 

400 

700 

200 

Chollar  Potosi                            .                         

1  434 

700 

700 

Buillon 

940 

*455 

430 

Dxchequer 

400 

*540 

None 

Alpha           

278  £ 

620 

278-j- 

Apple  &  Bates         .  ....                 ......       .......     .   .... 

3U 

600 

3U 

Imperial  (Alta)                                                             .         ..  ' 

118 

600 

118 

45 

600 

45 

134 

550 

13i 

Imperial   (H  andL.)        .                          ..                 ............ 

65* 

550 

653- 

Challenge 

50 

554 

50 

130 

544 

130 

Burk  &  Hamilton    ..   ........................... 

40 

544 

40 

Yellow  Jacket                      .         ...... 

957 

430 

Keutuck 

90 

300 

Shaft 

540 

301 

540 

Belcher  ......    .  .  ..  ..  

940 

520 

940 

Segregated  Belcher  .     ......... 

160 

500 

160 

1  200 

640 

1  200 

2  000 

300 

Baltimore  American  ..................       ...... 

2  000 

300 

Deduct  6  feet  in  dispute  between  Imperial  and  Apple  &  Bates  Cos.. 

22,  264 
6 

Total  

22  258 

"The  'dead  work'  (i.  e.,  shafts,  wings,  tunnels,  and  excavations  not  in  pay 
ore)  of  the  Gould  &  Curry  company  equals  about  12,750  lineal  feet,  (about 
Sy^o  miles,)  with  an  average  cross- sectional  a^rea  of  thirty  feet,  or  about  14,167 
cubic  yards. 

"  The  companies  enumerated  above  have  excavated  about  28  miles  of  tunnels 
and  drifts,  and  about  5J  miles  of  shafts,  wings,  and  inclines,  exclusive  of  stopes 
on  ore  chimneys,  which  will  amount  at  least  to  as  much  more,  giving  a  total  of 
at  least  67J  miles. 

"  The  longest  tunnel  penetrating  the  Comstock  lode  is  the  Latrobe,  3,200 
feet  in  length  in  a  straight  line,  besides  various  branches,  which  was  commenced 
in  February,  1861,  aad  is  still  being  driven  ahead.  The  above-mentioned  com- 
panies have  forty-four  hoisting  and  pumping  engines,  which  will  probably 
average  between  thirty  and  forty  horse-power,  and  give  an  aggregate  of  more 
than  1,500  horse-power.  The  mines  of  the  Comstock  employ  seventy-six  mills 
for  reducing  their  ores,  with  an  aggregate  capacity  for  crushing  1,800  tons  daily; 
some  of  which  are  fourteen  miles  from  the  mines,  the  ore  being  transported  on 
wagons. 

"  There  is  consumed  annually  by  these  companies  about  22,265  cords  of  wood, 
at  a  cost  of  not  far  from  sixteen  dollars  per  cord,  and  a  total  cost  of  more  than 
one-third  of  a  million  of  dollars;  and  they  use  about  15,540,120  feet,  board 


*  Evidently  an  error,  and  much  too  large. 


74 


RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND  "'TERRITORIES 


measure,  of  timber  and  lumber,  all  of  which  must  be  transported  long  distances 
on  wagons,  at  a  cost  of  about  forty  dollars  per  thousand,  or  a  total  cost  of 
nearly  two-thirds  of  a  million  of  dollars.  Thus,  for  wood  and  timber,  we  have 
a  total  annual  cost  of  one  million  of  ^dollars." 

26.— QUARTZ  MILLS  IN  NEVADA. 

Surveyor  General  Marlette,  in  the  report  for  1865,  gives  the  following  figures 
of  the  quartz  mills  in  the  State : 


Counties. 

02 

Water. 

1 

Horse-power 
of  engines. 

No.  of  stamps. 

Churchill                    ..            .   

12 

1 

17 

497 

169 

Huinboldt                               

1 

1 

Lander                                               »     ....  ....     ...... 

16 

3 

19 

163 

21 

9 

34 

940 

508 

4 

38 

36 

1,510 

623 

Washoe                                                            -         

9 

1 

10 

60 

Capacity  and  machinery  of  ComstocJc  mills. 

The  Mining  and  Scientific  Press  published  the  following  quartz  mills  in  Vir- 
ginia City  and  the  vicinity,  with  the  name,  the  number  of  tons  reduced  per 
month,  the  number  of  stamps,  and  the  kind  of  machinery  used  in  reduction. 

Quartz  mills  in  Virginia  City  and  the  vicinity,  with  the  name,  the  number  of 
ton's  reduced  per  month,  the  number  of  stamps,  and  the  kind  of  machinery  used 
in  reduction. 


Location  and  name  of 
mill. 

S    . 

•p*s 

«  3 

o  2 
HB 

gSJ 

1! 

£| 

Remarks 

Virginia  City. 
Summit    ............. 

900 

20 

11  Wheeler  pans,  4  settlers,  1  small  Varney  pan 

Central  

670 

13 

and  settler,  1  agitator. 
4  Hepburn  pans  and  4  settlers,  working  500  tons. 

1,000 

22 

wet  ;  4  furnaces  and  6  barrels,  working  170  tons, 
dry. 
12  Wheeler  pans  and  4  settlers. 

800 

21 

24  Knox  and  2  Wheeler  pans. 

Hoosier  State        ..... 

400 

8 

24  Ivnox  pans. 

Seven  Mile  Canon. 

600 

12 

6  Wheeler  pans,  prospecting  battery,  2  Knox  pans 

Chas  Land's 

1,000 

20 

and  3  large  settlers. 
1  Blake's  breaker,  19  Wheeler  pans,  5  settlers,  and2 

Bassett's        

700 

16 

grinders  for  grinding  amalgam  and  work'g  slum. 
4  improved  Wheeler  and  2  Hepburn  pans,  2  tubs, 

and  3  settlers. 

WEST   OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 
Quartz  mills  in  Virginia  City,  fyc. — Continued. 


75 


Location  and  name  of 
mill. 

b 

§§ 

£* 

Number 
of  stamps. 

Remarks. 

Winfield,  or  Booth's  
Gould  &  Curry     ..   

1,000 
3  502 

18 
80 

1  Blake's  breaker,  8  Hepburn  pans,  1  grinder,  and 
4  settlers. 
39  Hepburn  pans,  3  Varney  pans,  and  21  settlers. 

700 

15 

2  Hepfiurn,  2  Wheeler,  and  20  4-  feet  Knox  pans. 

G.  Atwood'  s,  Fly  Deland'  s 

Gold    Hill    and    Gold 
Canon. 

600 
700 

15 
15 

26  Knox  pans,  2  Wheeler  pans,  and  2  settlers. 
8  Hepburn  pans,  2  grinders,  and  4  settlers. 

Crown  Point  ......  .... 

200 

Q 

13  Knox  pans  and  tubs. 

Rhode  Island  Cr.  P't  Co. 

1,  350 

400 

25 
14 

8  Hepburn  and  10  7-feet  Knox  pans. 
14  tubs  and  1  agitator. 

Gold  Hill  

475 

14 

24  Knox  pans,  6  6-feet  tubs,  and  4  settlers. 

Sapphire     ....  ....  .... 

800 

16 

56  Knox  pans. 

Petaluma           .    ...... 

300 

g 

18  Knox  pans. 

Imperial 

1  100 

44 

74  Knox  pans. 

900 

Ifi 

12  \Vheeler  pans  6  settlers  and  2  concentrators* 

500 

9 

30  5-feet  plain  pans  and  2  agitators. 

Douglas           ..    ...... 

450 

10 

26  plain  pans  and  1  agitator. 

Atlas 

750 

IP: 

8  Hepburn  pans  and  4  settlers. 

Piute  Piute  Co 

1  200 

20 

12  Hepburn  pans  6  8-feet  settlers  and  1  grinder 

Pacific  Alpha  Co 

1  SOO 

Of) 

15  W^heeler  pans  5  large  settler*'   and  2  grinders 

Succor        ..         ...... 

600 

20 

2  Hepburn  pans,  24  Wheeler  flat-bottom  pans,  1 

Confidence 

650 

10 

settler,  and  1  agitator. 
8  Varuey  pans  5  settlers  and  3  agitators 

G  C  Reduction  

600 

15 

6  Hepburn  and  4  5-feet  flat-bottom  pans. 

Phoenix     ....    .  ..... 

500 

16 

6  pins  and  4  settlers. 

Eastern  Slope 

550 

12 

6  Hepburn  pans  and  3  large  settlers. 

Swansea 

600 

12 

22  6-f'eet  tubs  3  settlers  prospecting  battery,  and 

Excelsior  ......  ....... 

530 

10 

pan. 
18  Knox  pans  and  1  settler.                            , 

Sacramento 

550 

10 

12  7-feet  iron  pans  and  1  agitator. 

Weston's  

700 

15 

9  Wheeler  pans,  5  settlers,  and  1  agitator. 

On  Carson  river,  from 
Empire  to  Dayton. 

Mexican  .............. 

1  260 

44 

12  Hepburn  pans,  4  furnaces,  and  10  barrels;  by 

2  300 

40 

wet  process,  1.000  tons  ;  by  dry  process,  260  tons. 
30  Hepburn  pans,  15  settlers,  2  agitators,  and  2 

Brunswick  ..  

600 

g 

grinders. 
8  Varney  pans  and  4  agitators. 

Merrimac 

2  350 

20 

15  Wheeler    4  Knox,    and  1  Varney  pan,  pros- 

Vivian    .  ....... 

750 

16 

pecting  battery  and  pan,  6  large  settlers,  and  10 
agitators. 
8  Wheeler  pans,  4  settlers,  and  1  agitator. 

Santiago  ...... 

1  100 

24 

1  Blake's  breaker,  14  Wheeler  and  4  Hepburn  pans, 

Eureka  

1  100 

20 

and  9  settlers. 
10  Wheeler  pans,  5  settlers,  and  2  agitators. 

San  Francisco  . 

500 

10 

3  Hepburn  pans  and  7  tubs. 

500 

10 

2  Wheeler  and  2  Hepburn  pans,  5  tubs,  and  2 

500 

10 

settlers. 
10  Varney  pans  and  3  settlers. 

Ophir  Co.'s  

1  200 

24 

12  Hepburn  pans  and  6  settlers. 

Dayton  No.  1 

'500 

20 

6  Wheeler  pans  2  8-feet  settlers,  and  2  agitators. 

Dayton  No.  2 

800 

I** 

8  Varney  pans  4  settlers   and  4  agitators. 

Birdsall  &  Carpenter.  .. 

2,400 
500 

30 

10 

20  Wheeler  pans,  10  large  size-  Wheeler  settlers,  5 
agitators,  1  grinder,  and  1  Blake's  rock  breaker. 
24  Knox  pans  and  1  settler. 

500 

20 

6  HeDburn  nans.  2  settlers,  and  3  agitators. 

76  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

Quartz  mills  in  Virginia  City,  fyc. — Continued 


Location  and  name  of 
mill. 

K     (^ 

O   0 

Number 
of  stamps. 

Remarks. 

Imperial  Co.'s,  Black  P't 

American  Flat. 
Bay  State  

2,400 
1,400 

56 
23 

Blake's  breaker,  large  size,  14  Hepburn  pans,  27 
7-feet  tubs,  and  7  7-feet  settlers. 

14  Wheeler  pans  and  7  settlers 

Bigby  &  Co 

400 

10 

5  Varncy  pans  and  4  settlers   1  extra  pan  and  set- 

Washoe  Valley    and 
vicinity. 

Temelec 

800 

15 

tler  for  tailings,  and  1  barrel. 
12  "Wheeler  pans  and  2  laro'e  settlers 

Manhattan  N.  Y.  Co  
New  York  ....   . 

1,300 
1  300 

24 

24 

16  pans,  8  settlers,  and  \  grinder. 
16  Varney  pans  6  settlers   and  I  grinder 

Atchison  Savage  Co  
Minnesota  Savage  Co.  .  . 
Buckeye  ......      .  . 

1,200 
1,000 
700 

20 
16 
10 

1  breaker,  16  Wheeler  pans,  and  8  settlers. 
1  breaker,  12  Wheeler  pans,  6  settlers,  abd  1  agita'r. 
1  breaker  8  \Vheeler  pans  and  4  settlers 

Ophir  Co  's 

450 

72 

\Vorking  only  36   stamps    (Freiberg1   process  )  9 

J.  H.  Ball's  

1,725 

60 

furnaces,  24  amalgamating  barrels  ;    work    43 
men  ;  full  capacity  of  mill,  750  tons. 
2  Blake's  breakers,  8  furnaces,  20  barrels  6  Var- 

ney and  4  Wheeler  and  Randall  pans. 

It  appears  from  this  table  that  there  are  331  Knox's  pans,  226  Wheeler's 
pans,  190  Hepburn's  pans,  58  Varney  pans,  94  plain  pans,  24  Wakelee's 
pans,  213  settlers,  37  agitators,  12  grinders,  59  barrels,  77  tubs,  and  two  con- 
centrators in  use  at  these  mills.  Under  the  head  of  amalgamating  machinery, 
though  not  strictly  in  place,  the  breakers  are  mentioned.  The  list  includes 
62  mills,  1,226  stamps,  919  pans.  The  total  amount  of  ore  reduced  per  month 
is  given  at  53,787  tons,  but  the  capacity  is  considerably  greater. 

27.— THE  PAN. 

The  pan,  which  is  the  chief  instrument  used  in  the  amalgamation  of  the  silver 
ores  of  Nevada,  is  of  cast  iron,  two  feet  deep,  and  from  two  to  seven  feet  in 
diameter — usually  four  and  a  half;  to  the  bottom  are  fastened  dies  or  movable 
pieces  of  iron  which  form  a  false  bottom,  and  can  be  replaced  by  others  when 
worn  out.  A  shaft  rises  through  the  centre  of  the  pan,  and  to  it  are  fastened 
shoes  or  pieces  of  iron  which  are  to  run  round  over  the  false  bottom  and  grind 
the  pulp.  Many  of  the  pans  have  chambers  at  the  bottom  for  steam,  which  is 
to  keep  the  pulp  at  a  heat  of  about  200°. 

28.— THE  WHEELER  PAN. 

The  above  is  a  description  of  the  general  features  of  the  plain  pan,  the 
Wheeler  pan,  and  the  Varney  pan.  The  Wheeler  pan  has  curved  grooves  in 
the  bottom,  running  from  the  centre  to  the  rim,  to  hold  the  quicksilver.  To  the 
sides  above  the  mullers  are  fastened  boards  so  shaped  as  to  throw  the  pulp  to 
the  centre.  But  for  these  boards  the  pulp  would  move  as  fast  as  the  muller, 
sixty  revolutions  per  minute,  and  might  run  over  at  the  sides,  and  would  not  be 
brought  into  proper  contact  with  the  quicksilver  at  the  bottom;  whereas  by 
throwing  the  pulp  to  the  centre  the  current  is  broken,  the  heavy  matter  sinks 
to  the  bottom  to  be  ground  and  be  mixed  with  the  quicksilver 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS,  77 

29.— THE  VARNEY  PAN. 

The  Varney  pan  has  a  flat  bottom,  and  is  made  to  grind  as  well  as  amalga- 
mate. The  speed  is  greater  and  the  pulp  thinner  than  in  the  Hepburn.  Some 
vertical  pieces  of  sheet  iron,  which  run  from  the  side  of  the  pan  with  a  curve 
towards  the  centre,  and  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that  in  which  the  muller  runs, 
bring  all  the  pulp  sucessively  under  the  muller.  Near  the  centre  there  are 
holes  in  the  muller,  into  which  the  heavier  matter  sinks,  and  from  there  it  is 
carried  out  under  the  muller,  being  ground  as  it  passes  along.  The  muller  does 
not  reach  quite  to  the  side  of  the  pan,  so  a  little  space  is  left  there  for  quicksilver. 

30.— KNOX'S  PAtf. 

Knox's  pan,  which  is  used  more  than  any  other,  is  the  simplest  of  the  pans. 
It  is  used  to  amalgamate  only,  not  to  grind.  Four  boards  crossing  one  another 
at  right  angles,  are  set  vertically  in  the  pan,  over  the  mullers,  so  as  to  keep  the 
surface  of  the  pulp  still.  If  the  boards  were  not  there  the  pulp  would  run 
round  with  the  mullers  and  the  ore  would  not  be  brought  so  well  in  contact 
with  the  quicksilver.  The  mullers  run  slow,  making  ten  or  twenty  revolutions 
per  minute. 

31. -HEPBURN  PAN. 

The  "Hepburn  pan,"  as  it  is  commonly  known,  or,  as  it  is  styled  by  the 
patentees,  the  "  Hepburn  and  Peterson  pan,"  which  ranks  third  in  the  extent 
of  use,  has  a  bottom  shaped  like  an  inverted  cone,  with  sides  sloping  up  from 
the  centre  at  an  angle  of  45°.  The  muller  sets  on  this  slope,  and  the  pulp, 
which  is  mixed  with  only  a  little  water  so  as  to  make  a  thick  paste,  runs  up 
under  the  muller,  flows  inward  over  the  edge,  runs  down  over  its  upper  surface 
to  the  centre,  where  it  again  turns  to  run  up  under  the  muller.  Thus  a  constant 
current  is  maintained,  and  every  particle  of  the  pulp  is  successively  ground  and 
brought  into  contact  with  the  quicksilver.  The  Hepburn  pan  is  made  with  hard 
iron  mullers  and  false  bottom  so  as  to  grind  well,  and  if  the  ore  goes  in  coarse 
it  comes  out  fine.  The  muller  makes  from  forty  to  sixty  revolutions  per  minute, 
and  a  large  pan  will  take  half  a  ton  of  ore  at  a  charge  and  amalgamate  it 
thoroughly  in  three  hours. 

32.-THE  WHEELER  AND  RANDALL  PAN. 

It  is  evident  that  the  iron  in  Hepburn's  pan  must  be  ground  as  well  as  the 
ore,  and  that  the  grinding  will  be  the  greatest  at  the  sides  of  the  pan  and  least 
at  the  centre.  Thus  it  is  that  in  the  flat-bottom  pan  it  -is  frequently  necessary 
to  get  new  mullers  and  new  false  bottoms  or  dies.  To  remedy  this  evil,  and  to 
make  a  pan  in  which,  however  much  the  wear,  the  muller  shall  fit  close  to  the 
bottom,  the  Wheeler  and  Randall  pan  was  invented.  The  bottom  of  this  slopes 
upwards  from  the  rim ;  but  the  slope,  instead  of  being  straight,  as  in  the  Hep- 
burn, curves  inward  on  the  line  called  the  tractory  curve.  The  muller  has  the 
'same  curve,  and  no  matter  how  much  it  wears  it  always  fits  close  to  the  bottom. 
The  same  inventors  have  another  pan  made  on  the  same  principle,  but  with  the 
point  turned  down  instead  of  up.  These  pans  have  not  come  into  extensive 
use,  but  they  are  mentioned  here  to  show  what  experiments  have  been  tried  in 
the  mechanical  construction  of  pans- 

33.— ESTIMATED  YIELD  OF  VARIOUS  MINES. 

According  to  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Marlette,  the  following  companies  had  taken 
out  before  the  1st  September,  1865,  tha  amounts  set  opposite  their  respective 
names : 


78 


RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


Gould  &  Curry $14,  000,  000 

Ophir 7,  000,  000 

3,647,764 


Savage 

Imperial 

Yellow  Jacket, 
Belcher 


2,  500,  000 
1,891,916 
1,  462,005 


Total  for  six  companies 30,  502,  085 


34.— ASSESSMENTS  LEVIED. 


The  following  table  gives  a  few  instances  of  the  manner  in  which  money  has 
been  put  into  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode : 


Mines. 

Feet. 

Assessment 
per  foot. 

Total  assess- 
ment. 

]  200 

$400 

$480,  000 

Sierra  Nevada  .  

3  000 

116 

348  000 

Alpha  .     ... 

278 

1  210 

336  380 

800 

2^5 

188,  000 

Crown  Point  ..           .         

600 

290 

174  000 

Best  &  Belcher  .     . 

2-24 

580 

119  920 

Hale  &  Norcross  .  .  .  

400 

875 

350,  000 

White  &  Murphy  

210 

303 

63  630 

Imperial 

184 

270 

49  680 

•North  Potosi  .  ..     .  .  ...  

2,000 

140 

280,  000 

Total  

2,289,610 

This  list  does  not  include  one-half  of  the  amount  of  assessments  levied  by  well, 
known  companies,  and  several  millions  have  been  advanced  in  cash  by  capitalists 
in  San  Francisco  for  prospecting  and  opening  mines  which  never  were  heard  of 
except  by  a  few  who  spent  their  money,  and  their  friends'.  A  Mexican  proverb 
says,  "It  takes  a  mine  to  work  a  mine." 


35.— THE  GOULD  &  CURRY  MINE. 


The  following  figures  of  the  operations  of  the  Gould  &  Curry  company  are 
taken  from  official  reports : 


Years. 

43 

!** 

M 

Dividends. 

Tons  extracted. 

Percentage  of 
dividends. 

Average  yield 
of  ore  per  ton. 

1862  

$900  743 

8  427 

$104  50 

1863    

3  917  9'I7 

$1  464  400 

48  743 

34 

80  40 

-[864 

4  898  060 

1  44Q  (joo 

67  443 

29 

73  48 

1865  

2  395  242 

618  000 

46  022 

25 

50  76 

Half  of  1866      

908  119 

156  000 

17  890 

17 

36  90 

Total  

13  020  101 

3  678  400 

188  525 

28 

69  06 

The  mine  was  not  opened  until  1862,  and  before  it  began  to  pay  its  way  the 
Bum  of  $175,000,  or  $148  per  foot,  had  been  levied  as  assessments.    The  dividends 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  79 

commenced  in  1863,  and  for  that  year  alone  amounted  to  more  than  $1,000  a 
foot ;  and  also  for  the  next  year,  although  very  large  sums  were  expended  in 
building  a  mill  and  in  making  other  improvements.  The  average  yield  of  the 
ore,  however,  and  the  percentage  of  the  dividends,  decreased  with  each  year. 
The  ore  was  nearly  twice  as  rich  in  1863  as  in  1865,  and  the  expenses  in  the 
former  year  were  greater  than  the  gross  receipts  of  the  latter. 

The  total  number  of  tons  extracted  in  four  years  was  173,000,  or  a  mass 
of  165  feet  cubic,  and  the  bullion  produced  amounted  to  about  300  tons  of  2,000 
pounds  of  12  troy  ounces  each.     The  expenses  of  the  mine  and  mill  in  1865 
were  the  following : 
Total  expense  at  mine $609,  135  97 

Under  this  head  come  the  following  items  : 

Labor  at  mine 298,  055  62 

Contracts  for  tunnels,  drifts,  &c 37,  323  50 

Lumber  and  timber 1 .     147,  382  92 

Freight  from  California 11,  357  86 


Total  expenses  at  the  reduction  works $356,  865  81 

Under  this  head  come  these  items  among  others : 

Labor 160,  260  22 

Hauling  ore  to  mill  by  contract 32,  489  83 

Firewood 206,  749  32 

Foundry  work 33,  188  30 

Hardware 12,  631  28 

Sulphate  of  copper 12,  747  56 

Quicksilver 9,  903  98 

Salt 15,885  54 

Water 10,  416  84 

Oil,  candles,  &c 8,440  78 

Freight  from,  California 20,  993  89 


The  following  are  further  figures  from  the  president's  report  for  1864: 

Cost  of  extracting  ores  from  mine,  per  ton 1 .  $10  84 

Cost  of  reducing  third-class  ore  at  Gould  &  Curry  mill 14  46 

Cost  of  reducing  third-class  ore  at  Custom  mills 21  82 

Cost  of  reducing  second-class  ore  at  Custom  mills 50  00 

Average  yield  of  all  ores  reduced,  per  ton 50  76 

Average  yield  of  second-class  ore 255  66 

Average  yield  of  third-class  ore  at  Gould  &  Curry  mill 44  26 

Average  yield  of  all  ores  reduced  at  Custom  mills 45  12 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  operations  and  expenses  of  the  Gould  & 
Curry  mill,  (which,  however,  did  not  reduce  all  the  ore  produced  by  the  mine) 
for  the  six  months  ending  May  31,  1866  : 

The  pay  of  officers,  general  laborers,  watchmen,  teamsters,  &c.,  was  $14,354  88. 

The  cost  of  the  driving  power  was,  $10,565  87  for  labor ;  $85,996  for  wood ; 
$2,618  for  sundries;  $99,179  87  in  all. 

The  cost  of  preparing  ore  for  the  batteries  was,  $8,913  23  for  labor;  $828  for 
sundries ;  $9,741  23  total. 

The  cost  of  the  batteries  was,  $14,266  38  for  labor;  $4,546  for  shoes,  dies, 
&c. ;  $2,002  for  sundries ;  total,  $20,814  38. 

The  cost  of  amalgamating  was,  $15,421  13  for  labor ;  $1,363  for  retort  wood  ; 
$12,037  for  shoes  and  dies  ;  $5,794  for  salt ;  $12,256  for  sulphate  of  copper; 
$17,822  for  quicksilver ;  $2,232  for  sundries ;  total,  $66,925  13. 

The  cost  of  repairs  was,  $16,424  48  for  labor;  $15,402  for  sundries;  total, 
$31,826  48. 


80 


RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


The  total  expense  of  the  mill  was  $79,945  97  for  labor;  $162,896  for  ma- 
terial ;  total,  $242,841  97. 

The  amount  of  ore  delivered  at  the  mill  was  20,744  tons ;  the  amount  amal- 
gamated was  17,890  tons.  The  difference  of  2,854  tons  "shows  the  loss  of  ores 
carried  off  in  slimes." 

The  value  of  the  ore  and  of  the  bullion  produced  was  the  following : 


Gold. 

Silver. 

Samples. 

Total.  ' 

Value  of  ore          .       

$185  765  12 

$639  598  21 

$825  363  33 

Bullion  produced 

211  712  69 

448  036  76 

$507  72 

660  257  17 

[The  excess  of  gold  in  the  "bullion  produced"  over  that  in  the  "value  of 
ore,"  must  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  the  samples  assayed  did  not  fully 
represent  the  average  value  of  the  ore.] 

The  average  assay  per  ton  was  $46  13 ;  the  average  yield  was  $36  90 ;  the 
amount  lost  was  20  per  cent.  The  total  cost  of  reduction  per  ton  amalgamated 
was  $13  57. 

The  cost  of  reduction  per  ton  was  $0  80.23  for  officers,  watchmen,  and  la- 
borers;  $5  54.37  for  driving  power ;  $0  55.04  for  preparing  ore  for  batteries  ; 
$1  16.33  for  batteries ;  $3  73.50  for  amalgamation;  $1  77.88  for  repairs,  and 
$13  57  in  all. 

The  expenses  of  the  mine  during  the  six  months  were  the  following : 

The  salaries  of  officers  were  $6,766,  or  20  cents  per  ton. 

The  cost  of  extracting  ore  was  $103,042  99,  or  $3  06  per  ton. 

The  cost  of  prospecting  and  dead-work  was  $68,631  04,  or  $2  04  per  ton» 

The  cost  of  accessory  work,  $56,308  38,  or  $1  67  per  ton. 

The  cost  of  improvements  was  $19,876  52,  or  59  cents  per  ton. 

The  total  cost  of  salaries  of  officers,  extraction  of  ore,  prospecting  and  dead- 
work,  accesrory  work,  and  improvements  was  $254,624  93,  or  $7  56  per  ton. 

The  amount  of  ore  produced  was  33,705  tons. 

The  amount  of  bullion  produced  from  the  Gould  &  Curry  ore  by  outside 
mills  was  $227,085  81,  and  the  total  receipts  of  the  company  for  six  months, 
$908,119  25. 

The  expenses  were  $254,624  93  for  the  mine ;  $243,131  97  for  the  Gould 
&  Curry  mill ;  $7,777  61  for  assays ;  $128,404  83  for  reducing  ores  at  outside 
mills ;  $27,285  53  for  general  expenses,  and  $6,375  76  for  the  boarding-house. 
Total,  $667,600  63. 

36.— THE  OPHIR  MINE. 

The  Ophir  company  has  tried  and  compared  the  yard,  the  barrel,  and  the 
pan  processes  of  amalgamation,  and  the  general  result  of  their  experience  is 
that  the  yard  process  costs  $30  per  ton,  and  loses  20  per  cent,  of  the  metal ; 
the  barrel  process  costs  $28,  and  loses  15  or  20  per  cent,  of  the  metal;  and  the 
pan  process  costs  $15.  per  ton,  and  loses  from  35  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  metal. 
They  have  abandoned  the  yard  process,  as  unsuited  to  the  climate  and  having 
no  advantages ;  the  barrel  is  retained  for  ore  yielding  S90  per  ton  or  upwards  ; 
and  the  pan  is  preferred  for  poor  ore.  Ore  containing  $150  per  ton  will  yield, 
at  SO  per  cent.,  $120  to  the  barrel,  leaving  $92  after  subtracting  $28  in  the  cost 
of  working;  whereas  the  same  ore  would  give,  at  65  per  cent ,  a  gross  yield  of 
$97  50,  and  a  net  yield  of  $82  50  to  the  pan,  showing  an  advantage  of  $950 
per  ton  in  favor  of  the  barrel.  By  the  same  mode  of  calculation  ore  containing 
$50  to  the  ton  will  yield  $12  net  to  the  barrel,  and  $17  50  net  to  the  pan.  Ore 
containing  $80  to  the  ton  gives  about  an  equal  net  yield  to  the  barrel  and  the 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


81 


pan.     The  following  are  the  figures  of  some  of  the  operations  of  the  Ophlr  com- 
pany for  the  year  ending  November  30,  1864  : 


I 

Tons 
worked. 

Valne. 

Yield. 

C06t 

per  ton. 

Barrel                       .                      

4  554 

$601  653  99 

$519  703  38 

$3°  05 

Yard 

3  336 

299  825  85 

248  947  65 

3°  37 

Since -1864  the  cost  of  barrel  amalgamation  has  been  reduced  to  $28  per  ton. 

In  1865  the  barrel  and  pan  were  used,  and  the  following  figures  show  the 
amount  of  bullion  produced,  and  the  sums  and  proportions  of  gold  and  silver 
in  it : 


.     Gold. 

Silver. 

Total. 

Ratio  of  gold. 

Barrel 

$64  816  27 

$178  747  61 

$243  563  88 

26  per  cent 

Pan     

115,029  16 

96,247  72 

211,876  88 

54  per  cent. 

The  qualities  of  ore  used  in  the  two  processes  were  different,  but  the  propor- 
tions of  gold  and  silver  were  about  the  same  ;  and  hence  it  appears  that  the 
barrel  lo§es  the  gold  and  the  pan  loses  the  silver.  The  value  of  the  ore'sub- 
mitted  to  the  barrel  process  in  1865  was  $332,273  61,  and  the  total  bullion  ob- 
tained, including  some  not  represenfed  in  the  above  table,  was  $269,327  94, 
showing  a  loss  of  $62,945  67,  or  18  per  cent.  The  bullion  obtained  from  the 
barrels  was  worth  $1  05  per  ounce,  and,  therefore,  must  have  contained  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  base  metal,  since  one-fourth  in  value  was  gold,  and  pure 
silver  alone  is  worth  Si  33  per  ounce.  The  pan  bullion  was  worth  $2  31  per 
ounce,  or  more 'than  twice  as  much  as  the  barrel  bullion. 

37.— THE  SAVAGE  MINE 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Savage  Mining  Company, 
on  the  10th  of  July,  1866,  Alpheus  Bull,  president,  submitted  a  report,  in  which 
he  said  : 

"  By  reference  to  the  annual  reports  heretofore  made  I  find  the  first  ore  taken 
from  the  mine  was  in  April,  1863.  The  total  number  of  tons  extracted  up  to 
July,  1865,  (26  months,)  was  81,183,  or  3,122  tons  a  month.  The  entire  yield 
of  bullion  from  the  above  number  of  tons  amounted  to  $3;600,709  26,  being 
an  average  of  $44  35  per  ton. 

"  During  these  twenty-six  months  there  was  disbursed  $2,939,808  76,  be- 
sides paying  over  $800,000  in  dividends.  For  reduction  alone  there  was  paid 
$1,682,701  44,  almost  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  gross  yield  of  the  mine. 

"  The  total  production  of  ores  for  the  past  year  was  30,653  tons,  of  which 
there  were  reduced  20,535  tons,  yielding  bullion  of  the  value  of  $1,303,852  91, 
or  an  average  of  $44  14  per  ton,  at  a  cost  for  reduction  of  $16  74  per  ton. 
Notwithstanding  there  was  less  ore  extracted  during  the  year  just  ended,  and  the 
average  value  per  ton  a  little  less  than  the  preceding  years,  yet  the  net  earnings  of 
the  company  are  in  favor  of  last  year's  operations.  The  cost  for  extraction  of 
ores  the  past  year  is  certainly  high,  but  this  is  justly  chargeable  to  the  exten- 
sive improvements  in  building  machinery  and  explorations  in  the  mine,  the 
practical  benefits  of  which  will  be  derived  by  the  stockholders  at  some  future 
period." 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 6 


82 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 


The  superintendent's  report  for  the  year  ending  on  the  1st  of  July,  1866, 
gives  the  following  figures  relative  to  the  ore  extracted  : 


Extracted. 
Tons. 

« 
Total  yield. 

Yield 
per  ton. 

First  class 

435 

$93  220  04 

$224  08 

Second  class  ..  

26,  338 

1,096,449  23 

42  04 

Third  class  

3  878 

62  084  54 

20  43 

Total..,  

30,  652 

1,251,753  81 

Average  yield  of  all  ore  reduced,  per  ton,  842  38. 

During  the  last  four  months  preceding  the  date  of  the  report  the  cost  of  re- 
duction had  varied  from  $11  69  to  $12  95  per  ton. 

38.— THE  YELLOW  JACKET  MINE. 

The  following  statistics  of  the  yield  of  the  Yellow  Jacket  Silver  Mining 
Company  for  the  year  ending  July  1,  1866,  are  taken  from  the  annual  reports 
made  by  the  officers  of  the  company  : 

218  tons  first-class  ore  worked,  yielded,  per  ton «...  $172  05 

53,307  tons  second-class  worked,  yielded,  per  ton 31  00 

1,479  tons  sold,  yielded,  per  ton 3  26 

Average  of  all  ore  worked  per  toa 32  51 


Gross  product  of  bullion  from  ores  worked,  t $1,  690,  394  82 

Gross  product  of  ore  sold 4r  833  88 

Total  product .' 1,  695,  228  70 


Assessments  to  the  amount  of  $300,000  were  collected,  and  no  dividends  were 
declared  during  the  year,  but  a  debt  of  $379,771  was  paid  off  and  a  surplus  of 
$142,915  remained  on  hand  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Among  the  expenditures 
are  the  following  items : 

Crushing  ore  at  outside  mills $507,438  23 

Crushing  ore  at  company's  mills 352,178  81 

Total  cost  of  crushing 859,617  04 


The  term  "  crushing"  here  must  include  all  the  process  of  reduction,  and  the 
cost  is  about  half  the  total  yield  of  the  ore  worked. 

39.— THE  CROWN  POINT  MINE. 

It  appears  from  the  annual  .report  of  the  Crown  Point  Mining  Company  for 
the  year  ending  May  1,  1866,  that  the  recepts  from  the  mine  in  that  period  were 
$689,191  37;  the  number  of  tons  reduced,  1S,259J;  and  the  average  yield  per 
ton  $37  33.  Excluding  about  $8,000  of  assay  chips  and  bullion  sold,  there 
was  $243,967  86  in  gold  and  $437,207  27  in  silver.  The  average  cost  of  ex- 
tracting the  ore  was  $8  97.  The  cost  of  reduction  is  not  given  precisely. 

40.— THE  HALE  AND  NORCROSS  MINE. 

The  Hale  and  Norcross  Silver  Mining  Company  own  400  feet  on  the  Corn- 
stock  lode.  They  commenced  operations  in  1862,  and  worked  on  for  four  years, 
at  great  expense,  before  they  found  any  considerable  body  of  ore  to- reward  them. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  83 

They  levied  and  collected  assessments  to  the  amount  of  $875  per  foot,  making 
a  total  for  the  company  of  $350,000  invested  before  any  return  began  to  come 
in.  In  February,  1866,  1,261  tons  were  taken  out,  and  the  amount  has  since 
steadily  increased.  September  yielded  2,152  tons,  and  the  eight  months  from 
February  to  September,  inclusive,  16,986  tons,  which  produced  $736,394  32  in 
bullion  ;  an  average  of  $43  35  per  ton. 

41.— THE  IMPERIAL  MINE. 

The  total  receipts  of  the  Imperial  Mining  Company,  from  the  beginning  of  its 
operations  to  the  31st  of  May,  1866,  were  $259,133  80,  including  850,000  of 
assessments.  The  dividends  paid  amounted  to  $527,500.  The  following  are 
certain  figures  for  the  years  ending  May  31,  1865,  and  May  31,  1866  : 

1865.  1866. 

Tons  extracted - 28,  236  34,  735 

Total  yield $854,  630  56       $1,  019,  275  9.1 

Average  yield  per  ton 22  14  29  90 

Cost  of  extraction  per  ton 537  5  49 

The  bullion  for  1866  was  worth  $2  02  per  ounce  on  average,  the  fineness  in 
gold  being  .039  and  in  silver  .942. 

The  cost  of  reducing  11,404  tons  of  ore  at  the  Gold  Hill  mill  was  $8  66  per 
ton,  and  at  the  Rock  Point  mill,  (where  23,227  tons  were  reduced,)  $10  15  per 
ton. 

42.— THE  EMPIRE  MINE. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  report  made  by  Benjamin  Lilliman  on  the 
Empire  mine  on  the  2d  of  December,  1864: 

"  Up  to  this  time  (November  30)  this  company  have  crushed,  since  their 
organization  on  March  7,  1863,  about  25,000  tons  (of  2,000  pounds)  of  ores  in 
their  own  and  other  mills,  and  have  received  from  it,  for  the  same  period,  in 
bullion,  one  million  forty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  and 
forty-eight  cents  ($1,043,720  43,)  as  appears  by  the  bullion  receipts  which  I 
have  examined.  The  actual  value  received  by  the  company  in  working  their 
ores  has  been,  therefore,  $40  76  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  The  amount  lost  in 
tailings  it  is  impossible  to  fix,  but  we  are  justified,  from  the  general  experience 
of  the  mills  working  on  the  Comstock  ores,  in  assuming  the  loss  to  be  at  least 
one-thild  of  the  total  value  extracted."  *  *  *  "  There  has  never 

been  an  assessment  on  the  mine,  nor  was  there  any  capital  stock  paid  in.  The 
nominal  capital  was  one  million  of  dollars.  But  the  mine  has  paid  for  every- 
thing, besides  paying  its  fortunate  owners  $308,000  above  all  costs  and  charges." 

"  If  from  the  balance  of $731.  720  48 

We  deduct  the  cost  of  the  mill  in  1863 $60,  000 

Mill  in  Virginia  City .• 75,  000 

New  shaft  and  present  improvements  to  1864 70,  000 

205,  000  00 

• 

There  remains  for  the  presumed  cost  of  mining  and  milling. . .       526,  720  48" 

The  president  of  the  company,  in  his  report  for  the  year  ending  November 
30,  1865,  says : 

"  The  receipts  of  the  year,  from  all  sources,  amount  to  the  sum  of  $543,081  79, 
and  the  total  disbursements  to  $525,129  79,  of  which  $120,000  have  been  paid 
in  dividends  to  stockholders."  *  *  *  *  "  At  the  mine,  during  the 
year,  the  main  shaft  has  been  sunk  133  feet,  and  drifts  run,  ,-it  various  levels, 
965  feet,  consuming  554,500  fe«t  of  timber..' 


84 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 


During  the  year  20,500  tons  were  extracted  from  the  Empire  mine,  and  the 
bull  ion 'produced  amounted  to  $485,542  49,  including  $185,452  30  in  gold  and 
$298.929  96  in  silver.  The  bullion  was  worth  $2  02J  per  ounce ;  weighed 
^40,812.20  troy  ounces  before  melting,  and  239,707.95  ounces  after  melting. 

43.— PRODUCTIVE  MINES  OF  REESE  RIVER. 

The  following  statement  of  the  amount  of  bullion  produced  by  the  mines  of 
Lander  county,  Nevada,  during  the  quarter  ending  September  30, 1866,  is  taken 
from  a  report  by  the  county  assessor  : 


Name  of  mine. 

Tons. 

Pounds. 

Average 
per  ton. 

Great  Eastern  . 

412 

659 

$176  82 

Fortnna 

23 

85  71 

North  River    ...................   .........    .   ............... 

29 

536 

217  56 

Troy 

2 

1,000 

83  82 

1 

402 

132  57 

Blind  Ledge  .  .   ...   ..   .  .   ..  ....   .  .. 

2 

1,965 

128  64 

Semanthe 

2 

774 

276  97 

Othello                     *                                                            * 

5 

1  105 

36  35 

Idora             ......    .................         ......     .   ...... 

16 

1,237 

212  62 

Eastern  Oregon 

86  46 

Foster 

26 

1  212 

48  47 

La  Plate 

50 

882 

7J  60 

Chase  &  Zent 

4 

1  000 

362  04 

Canada 

6 

1  500 

132  90 

Eldorado             -           ..............               .................. 

2 

568 

291  58 

Magnolia 

4 

]  171 

259  93 

4 

88 

187  43 

Morgan  &  Mnncey  -     ...  ...........     ..........  ... 

17 

634 

107  75 

Diana 

17 

563 

180  40 

Detroit     

14 

1,800 

116  18 

39 

90  77 

Timoke 

28 

253 

167  92 

Dover     ....  ......  ..  .  ......  ......  ......  ......  ..  .  ...... 

2 

450 

161  64 

Isabella                                       .         ............ 

19 

503 

40  08 

Harding  &,  Dickman 

1 

1  233 

87  19 

Providential  ......  ......  ....  ..   .  ......  ......  ....  ......  ...... 

79 

1,000 

39  04 

227 

65  07 

Folsom 

5 

1  019 

166  00 

Savage  Consol  No.  1  .  .  

160 

156  83 

Savage  Consol  No  2                  .-     ...     ...                      ....... 

230 

74  00 

44.— YIELD  OF  VARIOUS  SILVER  DISTRICTS. 

The  total  annual  yield  of  Lander  county,  Nevada,  (or,  as  it  is  often  called, 
Reese  River  region,)  is  about  $900,000,  and  the  yield  of  the  Owyhee  district  in 
silver  is  about  $1,500,000  ;  so  that  this  latter  is  next  to  Virginia  City  among 
the  silver  producing  districts  of  the  United  States,  and  it  has  the  resources  to 
increase  its  production  greatly  within  a  few  years.  The  yield  of  Esmeralda 
was  nearly  $1,000,000  in  1863,  but  it  is  now  not  $100,000,  and  the  Humboldt 
district  does  not  produce  more  than  $50,000. 

45.— IMPROVEMENTS  IN  SILVER  MINING. 

Although  the  silver  mining  at  the  Comstock  lode  is  not  in  a  satisfactory  con- 
^dition,  it  is  at  least  progressive,  and  there  is  a  certainty  of  steady  improvement 
for  a  long  time.     So  far  as  the  extraction  of  the  ore  is  concerned,  there  is  nothing 
better  anywhere.     The  pumping  and  hoisting  are  done  by  machinery  of  unsur- 
passed excellence.     A  machine  has  been  invented  for  lowering  men  with  safety 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  85 

into  the  mine,  and  another  for  framing  the  timbers  to  be  used  in  supporting  the 
sides  and  roofs  of  drifts.  It  is  in  the  reduction  department  that  the  chief  defect 
exists.  For  a  long  time  most  of  the  ore  was  sent  to  custom  mills,  and  as  they 
were  paid  a  certain  sum  per  ton,  it  was  their  interest  to  reduce  as  much  as  possible 
without  special  regard  to  the  thoroughness.  For  years  this  was  the  only  method 
of  obtaining  any  return  from  most  mines  ;  and  besides,  it  was  in  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  the  silver  miners  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Bolivia,  where  for  centu- 
*  ries  the  mines  and  the  reduction  works  have  belonged  to  distinct  classes.  * 

But  in  time  it  became  evident  that  the  most  productive  mines  must  have 
reduction  works  of  their  own,  and  now 'they  are  provided  with  magnificent 
mills,'  in  which  tlie  processes  of  pulverization  and  amalgamation  are  carefully 
studied  by  many  careful  and  competent'  men ;  and  they  will  undoubtedly  make 
valuable  contributions  to  the  metallurgy  of  silver  within  a  few  years.  Although 
the  expenditures  in  the  large  silver  mines  are  immense,  they  are  not  extrava- 
gant. The  general  financial  affairs  are  very  carefully  studied  and  strictly 
managed.  The  operations  are  so  extensive,  the  amount  of  material  consumed 
is  so  great,  and  labor  is  so  high,  no  small  sums  of  money  r-ufEce.  The  comple- 
tion of  the  railroad  from  Sacramento  to  Virginia  City  will  reduce  the  cost  of 
wood,  and  of  various  other  important  supplies,  nearly  or  quite  fifty  per  cent,  and 
will  be  followed  by  consequent  reduction  in  the  price  of  labor ;  and  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Sutro  tunnel  will  reduce  the  cost  of  draining  and  ventilating  the 
mines  and  of  extracting  the  ore.  The  railroad  may  be  in  running  order  within 
a  year;  the  tunnel  will  not  be  finished  for  several  years  at  least. 


SECTION   4. 

RESOURCES -OF  NEVADA,  OREGON,  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY,  UTAH,  MON- 
TANA, AND  IDAHO. 


1.  Historical  sketch  of  Nevada. — 2.  Geography  and  products  of  Nevada. — 3.  Mines  and 
mineral  resources  of  Nevada. — 4.  Mining  property,  &c. — 5.  General  view  of  the  mines 
of  Nevada,  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  Utah,  Montana,  and  Idaho. 

1.  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  NEVADA. 

Boundaries. — The  State  of  Nevada,  erected  from  the  former  Territory  of 
Nevada,  extends  easterly  and  westerly  from  tjie  37th  to  the  43d  meridian  west 
from  Washington,  and  from  the  42d  degree  of  north  latitude  to  Arizona,  hav- 
ing Oregon  and  Idaho  on  the  north,  Utah  on  the  east,  Aiizona  on  the  south,  and 


rmnm< 
thougl 

mines  and  the  opulence  of  the  tescutndores  (amalgamators,)  by  whom  these  extensive 
buildingswere  raised.  Few  or  none  of  them  possessed  a  sufficiency  of  water  to  work  their 
machinery,  for  which  purpose  mules  were  employed,  and  .14,000 'of  these  animals  were  in 
daily  use  (to  work  the  arrastras  and  tread  the  ores  in  the  patio}  before  the  revolution.  The 
rescatadores  purchased  their  ores  at  the  mouths  of  the  shafts,  relying  entirely  on  their  own 
powers  of  estimating  by  the  eye  the  value  of  the  montones  (heaps)  exposed  for  sale  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  make  a  disadvantageous  bargain.  In  this  science  they  attained  great 
perfection  ;  for  more  fortunes  were  made  in  Glianajuato  by  amalgamation  works  than  by  mi- 
ners themselves;  while  the  extent  to  which  the  system  was  carried  afforded  to  the  successful 
adventurer  the  means  of  realizing  instantly  almost  to  any  amount.  During  the  great 
bonausa  (rich  yield)  of  the  Valeuciana  mine,  sales  were  effected  to  the  amount  of  $80,01)0 
in  one  day ;  and  it  is  to  this  facility  iu  obtaining  supplies  that  the  rapid  progress  of  the  works 
in  that  mine,  after  its  first  discovery,  may  be  ascribed.  Had  it  been  necessary  to  erect 
private  amalgamation  works  in  order  to  turn  his  new  born  riches  to  account,  many  years  must 
have  elapsed  before  the  first  Count  Valericiana  could  have  derived  any  advantage  from  his 
labors  ;  for  when  fortune  began  to  smile  upon  them,  the  man  who  was  destined  in  a  few 
years  to  rank  as  one  of  the  richest  individuals  in  the  world  did  no't  possess  a  single  dollar." 


86  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

California  on  the  southwest  and  west ;  comprising  within  its  limits  an  area  of 
80,239  square  miles.  This  region  was  a  portion  of  the  territory  acquired  by 
the  United  States  from  Mexico  under  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  belonging 
previous  to  its  transfer  to  the  "  department  of  Alta  California."  Prior  to  its 
acquisition  by  our  government  it  was  inhabited  only  by  the  aboriginal  races,  there 
being  no  settlements  of  civilized  people,  not  even  a  mission,  within  its  borders. 
At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  silver  in  1859,  ten  years  after  its  first  settlement 
by  the  whites,  it  contained  less  than  one  thousand  inhabitants,  which  number; 
two  vears  later,  had  increased  to  nearly  17, 000, as  appears  by  the  census  returns 
taken  in  August,  1861 ;  the  estimated  population  of  the  State  being  at  present 
between  thirty-five  and  forty  thousand,  at  which  number  it  has  remained  nearly 
stationary  for  the  past  three  years. 

The  aboriginal  races. — These  consist  of  three  or  four  principal  nations, 
divided  into  many  small  communities  or  families,  sparsely  scattered  over  the 
entire  country.  These  nations  are  the  Washoes,  inhabiting  a  succession  of 
small  valleys  along  the  western  border  of  the  State,  the  Pah-Utahs  occupying 
the  balance  and  greater  portion  of  the  western;  while  the  third  division,  the 
Shoshones — hold  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  Some  have  considered,  and  per- 
haps properly,  the  Pannocks,  a  race  dwelling  in  the  northern  and  northeastern 
portions"  of  the  State,  as  a  distinct  nation.  With  the  exception  of  the  last  named, 
these  Indians,  though  often  at  variance  among  themselves,  are  naturally  peace- 
ful and  inoffensive,  being  distinguished  less  for  their  warlike  propensities  than 
a  good  natured  indifference  as  to  what  is  going  on  around  them.  They  have 
never  manifested  any  great  degree  of  hostility  towards  the  whites,  nor  seriously 
objected  to  the  latter  entering  and  settling  in  their  country,  their  opposition 
generally  extending  no  further  than  an  occasional  protest  against  the  destruction 
of  their  pine  orchards,  upon  the  fruits  of  which  they  are  largely  dependent  for 
their  subsistence.  The  Washoes,  though  the  least  numerous  of  these  tribes, 
have  always  been  remarked  for  their  honesty  and  friendliness  towards  strangers. 
These  Indians,  though  somewhat  nomadic  in  their  habits,  have  their  favorite 
places  of  abode,  these  being  generally  along  the  rivers  or  about  the  sinks  and 
lakes  where  fish  and  wild  fowl  are  to  be  obtained.  These  localities  usually  form 
their  winter  homes,  much  of  their  time  during  the  summer  and  autumn  being 
spent  in  the  mountains,  where  alone  is  found  the  pinon,  a  species  of  scrubby  pine, 
the  nut  of  which  forms  with  them  a  staple  article  of  food.  These  people  culti- 
vate no  land,  depending  entirely  on  the  natural  products  of  the  country  for  a 
livelihood,  and  as  these  are  not  numerous  or  abundant  they  sometimes  suffer 
from  want.  They  build  no  houses,  scarcely  even  a  wigwam  ;  a  few  sage  brush 
or  willows  put  up  to  brt-ak  the  force  of  the  wind,  affording  them,  even  in  winter, 
ample  protection.  Few  of  them  own  horses,  fire-arms,  or  other  property  of 
value,  the  whole  race  being  distinguished  for  extreme  poverty.  Formerly  they 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  wild  animals,  as  many  of  them  still  do,  the  skins  of  the 
hare  being  chiefly  used  for  this  purpose.  Latterly  they  are  becoming  addicted 
to  a  more  civilized  but  scarcely  improved  style  of  dress,  clothing  themselves 
with  the  cast-off  garments  of  the  whites.  The  women  are  by  nature  modest 
and  chaste,  and,  as  among  most  savages,  have  to  perform  the  greater  part  of  the 
labor  necessary  to  their  own  .sustenance  as  well  as  that  of  the  men.  Taken  as 
a  whole,  these  cannot  be  considered  a  bad  race  of  Indians,  exhibiting  few  of  the 
savage  and  murderous  traits  that  distinguish  the  tribes  further  in  the  interior ; 
and  though  shiftless  and  indolent  they  are  not  averse  to  work  where  favorable 
opportunities  offer.  Many  of  them  are  now  employed  by  the  whites,  being  found 
very  useful  in  various  kinds  of  unskilled  labor.  Two  reservations  have  been  set 
apart  in  the  State  tor  the  use  of  these  Indians  ;  but  as  yet  no  thorough  and  sys- 
tematic measures  have  been  adopted  for  retaining  them  at  these  places  or  for  in- 
structing them  in  the  arts^of  civilized  life,  nor  is  it  likely  that  much  will  be 
accomplished  towards  that  end  through  the  agency  of  these  reservations.  Since 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  87 

their  intercourse  with  the  whites  these  people  have  become  demoralized,  and  the 
increase  of  physical  maladies  among  those  of  them  thus  exposed  has  already 
sensibly  diminished  their  numbers. 

First  settlements  by  the  whites. — The  first  settlements  within  the  limits  of 
this  State  were  made  in  1848  by  the  Mormons,  some  of  whom,  in  passing  back 
and  forth  between  California  and  Salt  Lake,  observing  the  excellence  of  the 
land,  located  in  Carson  and  Washoe  valleys.  The  following  year  they  were 
joined  by  a  few  adventurers,  who,  attracted  by  the  gold  discoveries  in  California, 
had  made  the  journey  overland,  but  stopped  on  finding  here  the  object  for  which 
they  had  set  out.  From  this  time  the  population  gradually  increased,  until,  in 
the  summer  of  1859,  it  had  been  swelled  to  the  number  already  stated,  notwith- 
standing most  of  the  Mormons  had  meantime  left,  having,  by  a  mandate  of  the 
church,  been  ordered  to  repair  to  Salt  Lake.  Up  to  this  period  the  crossing  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  in  the  absence  of  wagon  roads  or  even  tolerable  trails,  was 
an  arduous  task ;  yet  quite  a  good  many  came  over  from  California,  bringing 
provisions  to  exchange  for  the  famished  stock  of  the  immigrants,  and  finding 
here  good  pasturage,  some  remained  and  finally  became  permanent  settlers. 
Meanwhile  a  few  were  drawn  from  that  State  by  the  gold  diggings  or  a  mere 
love  of  adventure,  a  few  also  being  added  by  the  overland  immigration,  thus 
making  up  a  population  so  considerable  in  a  country  difficult  of  access  and 
otherwise  possessing  so  few  attractions. 

The  gold  discovery. — This  event  occurred,  as  above  intimated,  in  the  summer 
of  1S49,  being  the  result  of  examinations  made  by  a  party  just  arrived  on  their 
way  to  California  across  the  plains.  The  first  gold  found  was  at  a  point  near 
Carson  river  where  the  emigrant  road  crosses  Gold  canon,  and  where  the  town 
of  Dayton  now  stands.  This  canon  is  a  deep  ravine  coming  down  from  the 
high  range  of  mountains  six  miles  to  the  west,  and  along  the  eastern  slope  of 
which  the  Comstock,  the  great  silver-bearing  lode  of  Nevada,  is  located.  The 
head  branches  of  this  ravine  cut  the  Comstock  lode  at  a  number  of  points,  the 
deepest  of  these  cuts  being  at  Gold  Hill.  A  portion  of  this  lode  is  distinguished 
for  its  auriferous  character.  The  particles  of  gold  having  been  released  from 
the  masses  of  quartz  at  this  place  by  the  process  of  disintegration,  were  subse- 
quently washed  down  the  canon  and  deposited  in  its  bed  and  along  its  banks, 
the  finer  portions  being  carried  still  further  down  and  left  upon  the  bar  at  its 
mouth  ;  hence  the  origin  of  these  placer  mines.  That  this  is  the  primary  source 
of  these  deposits  is  apparent,  not  more  from  the  nature  of  the  case  than  the 
character  of  the  dust,  which  is  so  far  alloyed  with  silver  as  to  be  worth  only 
from  $10  to  $12  per  ounce,  corresponding  in  this  particular  with  the  gold  ob- 
tained by  crushing  the  surface  rock  at  Gold  Hill.  The  pay  realized  in  these 
diggings  for  the  first  few  years  was  very  good,  averaging  nearly  an  ounce  a  day 
to  the  hand;  but  it  finally  declined  (until  in  the  fall  of  1859,  when  they  were 
mostly  given  up)  to  less  than  a  third  of  that  amount.  The  number  of  men  en- 
gaged here  in  gold  washing  varied  from  20  to  100  ;  a  majority  of  them,  towards 
the  last,  being  Chinamen,  who  continued  working  in  a  small  way  for  a  year  or  two 
after  the  diggings  had  been  abandoned  by  the  whites.  The  total  amount  of 
gold  dust  gathered  from  these  placers  is  estimated  at  between  three  and  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Some  rate  it  much  higher,  affecting  to  believe  that 
the  Chinese  took  out  larger  sums  than  they  reported.  At  no  other  place,  except 
Gold  canon,  have  placer  mines  of  any  extent  or  value  been  found  as  yet  in  the 
State  of  Nevada.  In  Six  Mile  canon,  a  ravine  running  parallel  to  arid  a  short 
distance  below  Gold  canon,  some  trifling  deposits  were  found,  the  following  up 
of  which  led  to  th'e  discovery  of  the  Comstock  ledge.  Some  surface  mines,  of 
narrow  extent  but  considerable  richness,  were  also  found  in  1857  near  Mono  lake, 
then  supposed  to  be  within  the  limits  of  Nevada  Territory,  but  afterwards  ascer- 
tained to  be  in  California.  For  several  years  these  paid  fair  and  in  some  in- 
stances large  wages,  and  a  town  of  over  a  thousand  inhabitants  sprung  up  at 


88  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

that  point.  The  town,  however,  as  well  as  the  diggings,  is  now  nearly  deserted, 
but  little  having  been  done  there  for  the  past  five  years.  There  are  in  the  vicinity 
several  small  quartz  ledges,  showing  in  the  croppings  touch  free  gold.  In  1860, 
some  of  these  were  worked  by  arrastras  driven  by  water  power,  very  good  results 
being  obtained,  and  it  is  thought  by  many  these  ledges  could  be  worked  on  an 
extensive  scale  with  profit,  wood  and  water  power  both  being  convenient.  At 
a  number  of  other  points,  as  on  the  forks  of  the  Carson  and  Walker  rivers,  in 
Washoe  valley,  near  Virginia  City,  and  elsewhere,  placer  deposits  have  from 
time  to  time  been  met  with,  but  in  no  case  have  they  been  lasting  or  remarkable 
for  richness,  none  of  them  having  been  worked  for  more  than  a  short  period,  and 
all  being  now  abandoned ;  and  though  the  most  diligent  research  has  been 
made  during  the  past  six  years  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  State,  no  mines  of  this 
class,  of  any  great  extent  or  value,  have  yet  been  discovered.  At  the  same  time 
there  are,  as  is  well  known,  in  almost  every  quarter  of  the  country,  lodes  of 
auriferous  quartz  sufficiently  rich  to  pay  for  reduction  when  worked  for  gold 
alone. 

Discovery  of  silver. — Unlike  the  finding  of  gold,  the  discovery  of  silver  in  Nevada 
was  a  fortuitous  eyent,  having  been  brought  abou  t  in  this  wise :  The  miners  working 
up  Six-Mile  canon,  when  near  its  head,  and  a  little  below  where  the  Comstock 
lode  crosses  it,  encountered,  mixed  with  the  auriferous  earth,  a  black  metallic 
substance,  which  gave  them  much  trouble,  being,  on  account  of  its  weight,  diffi- 
cult of  separation  from  the  gold.  This  was  in  the  year  185S,  and,  although 
they  were  thus  led  to  notice  this  substance,  being  iguorarit  of  its  value,  they 
did  not  inquire  into  its  particular  character  or  attempt  to  trace  it  to  its  origin. 
It  was  to  them  simply  a  cause  of  annoyance,  and,  as  such,  to  be  avoided  or  got 
rid  of  as  easily  as  possible.  Having  finally,  during  the  subsequent  winter  and 
spring,  worked  up  this  gulch  until  they  were  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Comstock  lode,  it  became  expedient  to  dig  a  reservoir  to  hold  the  water  used  in 
washing,  this  being  obtained  from  the  ravines  above;  and,  although  a  line  of 
rich  surface  earth  had  before  been  traced  up  to  this  point  and  considerably 
worked,  it  was  not  until  this  excavation  was  made  that  the  deposit  of  silver  ore 
in  place  was  discovered  and  laid  open.  Nor  did  the  magnitude  of  the  event 
come  to' be  appreciated  and  made  generally  known  until  the  month  of  June 
following,  when  intelligence  of  it  first  reached  California.  What  little  merit 
attaches  to  the  discovery,  though  claimed  by  divers  individuals,  would  seem  to 
belong  chiefly  to  one  James  Fennimore,  or  Phinney,  as  he  .was  usually  called 
on  this  side  the  mountains,  and  who  was  the  first  to  locate  a  mining  claim  oil 
the  Comstock  ledge  proper.  This  claim,  made  more  than  a  year  before,  covered 
the  exact  point  where  the  silver  was  first  found,  it  being  on  the  north  end  of 
the  original  Ophir  ground,  and  near  the  south  line  of  the  Mexican  Company's 
claim.  Here  a  mass  of  rich  silver  sulphurets,  mixed  with  free  gold,  came  quite 
to  the  surface,  this  rich  deposit,  carrying  an  increased  quantity  of  gold,  having 
subsequently  been  found  to  extend  for  a  considerable  depth  below,being  especially 
rich  in  the  ground  of  the  Mexican,  or,  as  it  was  then  more  commonly  termed,  Span- 
ish Company.  Phinney,  who,  like  most  of  the  pioneer  miners  of  Washoe,  as  the 
country  was  then  called,  was  of  a  generous  and  improvident  disposition,  where- 
fore, having  gotten  ahead  a  few  dollars,  and  being  ignorant  withal  of  the  great 
value  of  his  ground,  sold  it  to  his  companion,  Henry  Comstock,  for  a  trifling  con- 
sideration. J?he  latter,  though  comprehending  better  than  Phinney  the  value  of 
this  property,  had  so  little  appreciation  of  its  real  worth,  that  he  congratulated 
himself  on  being  able  to  dispose  of  it  shortly  after  for  a  few  thousand  dollars, 
having,  however,  the  further  satisfaction  of  imparting  his  name  to  this  remark- 
able lode.  Nearly  all  the  valuable  claims  on  the  Comstock  ledge,  as  far  south 
as  Gold  Hill,  had,  within  a  few  months  after  the  discovery  of  silver,  passed 
from  the  possession  of  the  original  locators  and  owners  into  the  hands  of  more 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  89 

intelligent  or  wealthy  men,  leaving  the  former  class,  who  might  so  easily  have 
become  millionaires,  generally  quite  poor. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  more  particular  description  of  the  Comstock  ledge, 
and  of  the  mines  and  mining  operations  generally  of  Nevada,  it  may  be  expe- 
dient, as  contributing  to  a  better  understanding-  of  what  must  be  said  in  that 
connection,  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  physical  geography  of  the  State,  its 
natural  resources  and  productions,  climate,  agricultural  capacities,  &c. 

2.— GEOGRAPHY  AND  PRODUCTS  OF  NEVADA. 

Its  system  of  mountains,  plains,  and  valleys. — ; Viewed  as  a  whole  the  State 
of  Nevada,  in  common  with  the  great  American  basin  or  desert  of  which  it 
forms  a  part,  may  be  considered  an  elevated  plateau,  having  a  general  altitude 
of  more  than  4,000  feet  above  tide-water.  Traversing  this  lofty  plain  are 
numerous  chains  of  mountains,  separated  by  valleys  having  a  width  varying 
from  five  to  twenty  milos,  and  usually  about  equal  to  that  of  the  adjacent 
mountains  measured  through  their  bases.  The  course  of  these  valleys  is,  as  a 
general  thing,  parallel  to  the  main  axes  of  the  mountains,  which  have,  for  the 
most  part,  a  northerly  and  southerly  strike.  These  mountains  vary  in  height 
from  1,000  to  5,000  feet  above  the  common  level  of  the  country,  having, 'there-, 
fore,  an  absolute  elevation  of  from  5,000  to  9,000  feet  above  the  sea.  For  a 
distance  of  nearly  300  miles  the  Sierra  Nevadas  form  a  natural  barrier  along 
its  western  and  southwestern  border,  the  boundary  line  between  this  State  and 
California  running  partially  upon  its  summit  and  partially  along  or  near  the. 
eastern  base  of  this  range,  which,  though  not  here  attaining  its  greatest  altitude, 
has,  nevertheless,  within  the  limits  of  Nevada,  a  general  height  of  more  than 
7,000  feet,  a  few  of  the  loftier  peaks  reaching  a  height  of  10,000.  These 
mountains  do  not  on  this,  as  upon  the  California  side,  slope  to  the  plains 
with  a  long  and  gentle  declivity,  but  pitch  violently  down,  having  precipi- 
tous sides  throughout  their  whole  course.  They  are  covered  nearly  every- 
where from  base  to  summit  with  a  growth  of  terebinthine  forests,  consisting 
of  a  variety  of  pine,  spruce,  and  fir ;  well  adapted  to  make  superior  lumber. 
There  are  also  a  few  other  scrubby  trees,  of  but  little  value,  and  at  one  or 
two  points  groves  of  tamarack.  No  oak  or  other  hard  wood  of  any  size 
is  found  on  this  slope  of  the  sierra,  nor,  indeed,  in  any  other  part  of  Nevada. 
The  alternation  of  mountains  and.  valleys  mentioned  is  preserved  with  much 
regularity  throughout  the  State,  being  most  marked  in  the  central  portions 
thereof.  Sometimes  the  former  contract  or  are  so  broken  up  as  to  transform 
the  valleys  into  broad  plains  or  basins,  some  of  which  are  open  and  unob- 
structed, while  others  are  covered  with  isolated  buttes  or  dusters  of  rugged 
hills.  Sometimes,  also,  these  mountains  seem  to  lose  all  order,  being  grouped 
in  confused  masses,  or  have  an  axis  at  right  angles  or  otherwise  nearly 
transverse  to  the  trend  of  the  principal  ranges.  As  in  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
these  interior  chains  contain  many  peaks  upon  which,  in  spots  sheltered  from 
the  sun,  the  snow  lies  all  summer;  and  while  some  of  them  are  comparatively 
well  watered,  sending  down  perennial  streams  from  their  sides,  others  contain 
but  little  or  are  wholly  without  water.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  those 
in  the  more  western  and  southern  portions  of  the  State. 

Among  these  ranges,  sometimes  at  short  intervals,  gaps  or  low  passes  are 
met  with,  affording  easy  crossing  places,  some  of  them  being  so  low  and  smooth 
as  to  offer  no  serious  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  loaded  wagons,  and  through 
which  railroads  could  be  constructed  with  the  greatest  facility.  In  their  geo- 
logical structure  these  mountains,  though  varying  somewhat,  have  many  fea- 
tures in  common,  the  mass  of  them  being  composed  chiefly  of  sienites,  slates, 
and  granite ;  limestone  and  porphyry  are  also  common  rocks.  In  places,  the 
evidences  of  volcanic  action  are  abundant,  though  not  apparently  of  recent 
date,»though  lofty,  and  in  many  instances  having  their  sides  deeply  channelled 


90  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

by  numerous  ravines,  or,  as  they  aie  more  commonly  called,  canons.  The 
mountains  of  Nevada  are  not  remarkable  for  boldness  of  outline  or  a  generally 
rugged  aspect,  the  once  jagged  peaks  having  been  rounded  into  dome-like  shapes 
by  the  process  of  disintegration.  In  some  cases,  however,  these  still  shoot  up 
into  splintered  and  spire-like  summits,  presenting  a  contour  particularly  sharp 
and  striking.  Most  of  these  ranges  are  sparsely  covered  with  bunch  grass,  and 
also  with  scattered  patches  of  pinon  and  other  scrubby  trees,  three-fourths  of 
their  surface  being  destitute  of  any  kind  of  timber.  Along  some  of  the  streams 
that  flow  down  their  sides  are  narrow  strips  of  alluvial  soil  suitable  for  gardens, 
and  which,  sometimes  spreading  out  at  the  points  where  these  streams  debouch 
upon  the  plains,  afford  a  sufficiency  of  arable  land  for  small  farms.  The  moun- 
tains form,  of  course,  the  chief  repositories  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  country, 
though  metalliferous  deposits  of  apparent  value  have,  in  some  instances,  been 
met  with  in  the  valleys  or  out  upon  the  plains.  As  the  mountain  chains  o  ten 
continue  their  course  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more  without  break  or  deviation 
from  their  general  course,  so  also  do  the  intervening  valleys  extend  longitudi- 
nally for  a  like  or  even  greater  distance  without  interruption,  and  with  an  in- 
clination so  slight  as  to  be  imperceptible  by  the  eye.  These  valleys,  owing  to 
the  breaking  up  or  recession  of  the  neighboring  mountains,  sometimes  spread 
out  into  plains  of  great  extent,  while  in  other  cases  they  sweep  around  the  ends 
of  the  mountain  ranges  and  open  into  other  valleys,  being  on  the  same  level  or 
having  a  plain  but  little  different  from  their  own.  In  some  instances  these  ad- 
jacent valleys  are  separated  only  by  a  low  ridge  or  swell  of  land,  so  trifling  as 
to  offer  no  serious  impediment  to  the  construction  of  wagon  roads  or  railways, 
either  of  which  might,  if  following  a  generally  northern  and  southern  course, 
run  for  hundreds  of  miles  over  an  almost  perfect  level.  But  while  these  valleys 
"are  longitudinally  so  nearly  level,  they  all  have  a  gradual  slope  from  the  bases 
of  the  lateral  mountains  towards  their  centres,  giving  to  their  transverse  sections 
a  curved  or  basin -like  shape.  Through  a  few  of  them  runs  a  stream  of  water 
supplied  from  the  mountain  rills  on  either  hand  or  about  its  sources.  Most  of 
these  mountain  streams,  being  small,  sink  out  of  sight,  being  absorbed  by  the 
dry  and  porous  earth  as  soon  as  they  reach  the  margin  of  the  valley,  leaving  the 
latter  without  any  general  stream  flowing  above  ground  through  its  midst.  In 
cases  where  there  is  a  sufficient  accumulation  of  water  to  cause  a  stream  to 
run  above  ground  through  the  valley  there  is  usually  a  strip  of  arable  or  meadow 
land  along  its  margin,  the  quantity  generally  being  proportioned  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  stream  ;  Carson,  Reese  river,  Umashaw,  Paradise,  and  Pahra- 
nagat  valleys  be;ng  examples  of  this  kind.  This  strip  of  good  land  is  often 
but  a  few  rods  wide,  again  spreading  out  to  a  mile  or  more  in  extent,  while  in 
many  places,  as  where  the  banks  of  the  stream  are  high,  it  disappears  altogether, 
In  some  of  the  valleys,  as  Ruby,  Big  Smoky,  Toquima,  &c.,  there  is  much 
good  land,  though  there  is  no  open  stream  flowing  through  them.  In  these 
cases  the. rivulets  from  the  mountains,  though  they  disappear  on  reaching  the 
valley,  no  doubt  make  their  way  underground  to  its  centre,  and  percolating 
through  the  earth  cause  these  fruitful  spots  by  a  system  of  natural  irrigation. 
Other  valleys,  again,  owing  to  an  absence  of  these  mountain  streams,  are  desti- 
tute of  even  the  smallest  amount  of  good  land,  or  at  least  of  such  as  can  be 
made  available  for  agricultural  purposes,  much  of  the  soil  being  rich  but  unpro- 
ductive, because  of  its  aridity  and  lack  of  means  for  irrigation.  These  valleys 
are  nearly  all  treeless,  not  even  a  shrub  larger  than  the  artemisia  being  met 
with,  except  in  a  very  few  of  them ;  the  exceptions  being  confined  to  those 
having  large  streams  of  water  running  through  them,  such  as  the  Carson, 
Truckee  and  Humboldt,  along  which  are  a  few  scattered  cottonwoods  and  wil- 
low, the  latter  of  very  little  use.  Along  many  of  the  mountain  streams  a  simi- 
lar growth  of  timber  is  met  with,  as  well  as  birch  and  other  trees,  all  of  a  small 
size.  The  more  extended  plains  are  marked  by  a  greater  degree  of  sterility 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  91 

and  dryness  than  other  portions  of  the  country,  all  of  these  being  destitute  of 
wood  and  most  of  them  but  scantily  supplied  with  grass  and  wholesome  water, 
much  of  the  latter  being  so  warm  or  highly  mineralized  as  to  be  unfit  for  use. 
These  plains  are,  in  fact,  for  the  most  part,  nothing  but  absolute  deserts.  This 
system  of  valleys,  and  plains  so  enclosed  by  mountains  and  sometimes  connected 
with  each  other,  constitutes  a  series  of  basins,  each  having  a  drainage  of  its 
own,  but  scarcely  any  of  them  an  outlet  to  the  sea.  To  this  mode  of  drainage 
Nevada,  as  well  as  many  other  parts  of  the  Great  Basin,  is  entitled  for  some  of 
its  most  peculiar  topographical  and  geological  features,  this  common  receptacle 
of  the  gathered  waters  becoming,  according  to  circumstances,  a  lake,  a  meadow, 
an  alkali  flat  or  a  salt  bed. 

The  sinks,  sloughs  and  lakes. — As  stated,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  waters 
of  Nevada  are  supposed  to  reach  the  ocean.  That  very  little  does  so  through 
surfice  channels  is  apparent,  some  holding  to  the  rather  questionable  theory 
that  much  of  it  makes  its  way  thither  through  subterranean  passages.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  certain  it  is  the  surface  accumulations  are  fry  no  means  great. 
But  it  must  be  considered  that  the  fall  of  rain  and  snow  is  limited,  while,  owing 
to  the  aridity  of  the  atmosphere  and  earth,  evaporation  and  absorption  take 
place  rapidly.  The  only  considerable  lakes  in  the  State  are  those  formed  by  the 
waters  of  the  Carson,  Walker  and  Humboldt  rivers,  and  bearing  the  names  of 
these  streams,  respectively,  together  with  Pyramid  lake,  receiving  the  waters  of 
the  Truckee  river.  To  Lake  Tahoe  Nevada  can  hardly  lay  claim,  two-thirds 
of  it  being  on  the  California  side  of  the  line.  There  are,  besides  the  above,  a 
number  of  smaller  lakes  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  the  most  of  which  are 
not  only  of  limited  area  but  extremely  shallow,  which  latter  is  also  the  case  with 
the  Humboldt  and  Carson.  Pyramid,  the  largest  of  the  number,  being  thirty- 
three  miles  long  and  fourteen  wide,  has  a  great  depth  ;  the  Walker,  nearly  as 
large,  being  also  quite  deep.  Carson  lake  has  a  diameter  of  about  twelve  miles, 
being  nearly  circular ;  the  Humboldt  being  somewhat  smaller.  The  waters  of 
these  Likes  are  impregnated  with  alkaline  and  other  salts  to  a  degree  that  ren- 
ders them  unpalatable,  and  in  the  case  of  the  Humboldt,  especially  at  low 
stages,  scarcely  fit  to  drink.  Flowing  from  several  of  these  lakes  are  streams 
carrying  their  surplus  water  and  discharging  it  into  other  and  still  more  shallow 
lakes  situate  a  short  distance  below  ;  the  former  of  these  are,  in  popular  lan- 
guage, called  sloughs,  the  latter  sinks,  implying  that  here  the  water  finally 
disappears  or  sinks,  which  is  not  really  the  case,  the  sink  of  the  Carson,  forming 
also  that  of  the  Humboldt,  having  a  greater  area  than  either  of  those  lakes,  and, 
though  extremely  .shallow,  never  wholly  drying  up,  as  some  of  the  smaller 
lakes  often  do.  Honey  lake,  ordinarily  quite  an  extensive  body  of  water,  in 
seasons  of  extreme  drought,  wholly  disappears.  The  little  lakes  formed  in  the 
spring  by  the  Wemissa,  Umashaw,  and  similar  streams,  all  dry  up  later  in  the 
season.  v 

Alkali  flats  and  mud  lakes. — As  geographical  objects  these  are  in  some 
respects  closely  allied  to  each  other,  being  identical  locations  existing  under 
different  conditions ;  the  alkali  flat  is  often  the  mud  lake  dried  up,  and 
the  mud  lake  the  alkali  flat  covered  with  water.  Where,  as  frequently 
happens,  the  surface  of  a  valley  or  plain  is  composed  of  clay  or  other 
substance  impervious  to  water,  the  latter,  after  heavy  rains,  will  collect 
upon  these  spots,  and  spreading  out  sometimes  cover  a  large  extent  of 
country.  These  bodies  of  water  generally  dry  up  in  a  few  days  or  weeks  at 
furthest,  though  some  of  them  that  attain  a  greater  depth  remain  for  a  longer 
period,  in  some  cases,  until  quite  late  in  the  summer.  The  beds  of  these  lakes 
being  almost  perfectly  level,  they  are  never  more  than  a  foot  or  two  deep,  gene- 
rally but  a  few  inches ;  yet  usually  being  clear  and  calm,  and  reflecting  the 
surrounding  mountains  with  the  greatest  distinctness  the  stranger  is  led  to 
believe  them  a  very  formidable  body  of  water,  an  illusion  that  is  effectually 
dissipated  on  seeing  the  wild  fowl  wading  far  out  into  them,  or  on  riding  through 


92  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES  . 

them  and  finding  they  rarely  ever  reach  above  his  horse's  knees.  These  places, 
whether  covered  with  water  or  not,  unless  the  road  be  thrown  up  and  trod*  hard 
during  the  dry  season,  are  difficult  of  passage  in  wet  weather,  particularly  to 
loaded  teams.  When  the  mud  lake'  dries  up,  an  argillaceous  sediment  is  depo- 
sited on  its  bottom,  often  impregnated  with  alkaline  matter  or  other  salts,  which, 
being  white,  and  frequently  hardening  until  it  glistens  in  the  sun,  give  to  these 
spots  a  marked  and  desolate  appearance ;  so  hard  do  these  surfaces  sometimes 
become  that  a  heavily  loaded  wagon  fails  to  cut  through  them,  and  animals 
passing  over  scarcely  leave  a  footmark  behind  them.  In  other  cases,  these  flats, 
or  a  portion  of  them,  remain  soft  the  year  round,  the  water  coming  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  surface.  In  these  cases  a  constant  efflorescence  of  saline  matter 
is  going  on,  the  sublimated  particles  being  deposited  upon  the  surface  and  on 
the  surrounding  shrubbery,  if  there  be  any  near  by,  which  is  not  apt  to  be  the 
case,  the  soil  being  so  much  covered  with  water  and  so  mixed  with  agents  un- 
friendly to  vegetation  that  the  wild  sage  and  greasewood,  the  least  dainty  of  all 
plants,  fail  to  get  a  foothold  upon  these  flats.  Not  even  a  moss  or  lichen,  or  the 
most  lowly  fungus,  ever  lives  there.  While  these  alkali  flats  and  mud  lakes 
are  found  in  nearly  every  section  of  Nevada,  the  most  extensive  are  met  with 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  where  in  wet  seasons  they  cover  hundreds 
of  square  miles. 

Its  rivers  and  streams. — Nevada,  considering  the  extent  of  its  territory,  is 
remarkable  for  its  lack  of  streams  of  any  magnitude.  It  has  not  a  navigable 
river — scarcely  more  than  one  or  two  streams  that  in  most  countries  would  be 
called  a  river,  within  its  borders.  The  Ilumboldt,  the  longest  and  largest  river 
in  the  State,  is,  at  ordinary  stages,  fordable  in  many  places,  as  are  all  the  others, 
nearly  everywhere  along  them.  The  habit,  common  on  this  coast,  of  desig- 
nating so  large  a  class  of  diminutive  streams  as  rivers,  is  apt  to  give  them  an 
importance  on  the  map  which  they  do  not  deserve.  Reese  river,  though  having 
a  length,  traced  from  its  source  to  its  sink,  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
is  not  over  ten  or  'fifteen  feet  wide,  with  an  average  depth  of  about  two  feet ; 
other  streams,  popularly  termed  rivers,  being  still  smaller.  As  a  general  thing, 
the  rivers  have  a  hurried  current,  with  occasional  rapids,  though  nothing  like  a 
cataract  or  even  "a  tolerably-sized  cascade  is  known  to  exist  in  the  State. 

Flowing  through  broad  valleys  the  immediate  banks  of  the  streams  are  apt  to 
foe  low — in  the  case  of  the  smaller  ones,  only  a  few  feet  above  the  water.  Ileese 
river,  a  good  type  of  this  class,  flows  through  a  canal-like  channel,  with  parallel 
banks,  composed  of  clay  and  sodded  quite  down  to  the  water,  which  at  ordinary 
stages  is  from  two  to  ten  feet  below  the  adjacent  plain.  Except  far  down,  it 
never  dries  up  and  scarcely  ever  overflows  its  banks.  It  disappears  at  one  or 
two  points  along  its  course,  there  being  here  no  channel  above  ground.  At 
these  places  large  meadows  are  formed,  and  having  diffused  itself  throughout 
their  whole  extent,  the  water-  reappears  below,  sometimes  at  several  points,  and 
being  again  gathered  into  one  channel,  flows  on  as  before.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  however,  that  in  its  passage  through  this  meadow  the  water,  from  being 
perfectly  limpid  as  above,  has  been  turned  to  a  milky  color,  though  not  per- 
ceptibly altered  in  taste,  the  discoloring  matter  being  probably  a  species  of  clay 
containing  no  deleterious  or  offensive  properties.  Reese  river,  after  running 
with  no  other  interruptions  than  these  for  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  begins  to 
diminish,  standing  only  in  pools  along  its  course,  which  are  separated,  often  for 
a  considerable  space,  by  the  more  elevated  portions  of  its  bed  or  patches  of 
meadow  land.  The  stream  only  at  high  water  continues  to  run  along  this  part 
of  its  route,  when  it  makes  its  way  nearly  to  the  Ilumboldt,  finally  disappearing- 
in  a  tule  fen  that  dries  up  in  the  fall  and  winter,  the  seasons  of  greatest  drought, 
or  at  least  of  lowest  water  in  this  country.  The  Wemissa,  Umashaw,  and 
many  other  streams  terminate  in  a  similar  manner ;  these  marshy  spots,  like 
those  where  the  larger  rivers  find  a  terminus,  being  commonly  called  sinks. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS,  93 

The  water  in  most  of  the  rivers  and  creeks  is  wholesome  and  palatable  through- 
out their  entire  course,  that  of  the  mountain  rills  being  always  excellent.  The 
lower 'the  stage  of  water  and  the  further  we  go  down  the  stream  the  more  im- 
pure it  becomes ;  the  water  of  the  lower  Humboldt  being,  late  in  the  season, 
hardly  fit  to  drink,  owing  to  the  accumulated  impurities  here  diffused  through 
a  smaller  volume.  In  consequence  of  the  waste  from  evaporation  and  absorption, 
most  of  the  larger  streams  lose  as  much  water  from  these  causes  as  they  gain 
from  their  tributaries,  of  which  they  have  very  few,  imparting  to  the  rivers  of 
this  region  the  further  peculiarity  of  being  quite  as  large,  and  sometimes  even 
larger,  near  their  sources  than  they  are  at  their  points  of  termination.  The 
Humboldt  supplies  a  good  example  of  this  kind,  it  being  considerably  smaller 
where  it  enters  the  lake  than  it  is  two  hundred  miles  above,  throughout  all 
which  distance  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  a  single  tributary,  not  a  stream  of 
any  size  discharging  directly  into  it,  even  in  the  wet  season.  As  before  stated, 
most  of  these  streams,  as  well  as  the  valleys  through  which  they  flow,  are 
destitute  of  timber,  the  latter,  with  few  and  inconsiderable  exceptions,  being 
confined  to  the  mountains.  In  the  Reese  River  valley  proper,  nearly  one 
hundred  miles  long,  there  is  not  a  stick  of  timber  large  enough  for  a  fence  rail, 
many  others,  of  equal  extent,  being  quite  as  badly  off  in  this  respect.  Without 
trees,  and  containing  but  little  verdure,  these  immense  valleys  and  plains  pre- 
sent for  the  most  part  a  very  dreary  and  monotonous  appearance,  many  of  the 
latter  justly  meriting  the  appellation  of  desert,  so  often  applied  to  them.  The 
water  in  the  creeks  running  from  the  mountains  is  always  good,  and,  as  in  some 
of  the  ranges  these  are  numerous"  and  occasionally  quite  large,  they  become 
objects  of  importance,  not  only  as  supplying  the  ordinary  wants  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, but  as  furnishing  the  means  for  irrigation  and  a  considerable  amount  of 
propulsive  power,  their  descent  being  uniformly  great.  The  narrow  strips  of 
alluvial  land  found  along  some  of  these  mountain  rills,  as  well  as  the  bottoms  at 
their  mouths,  are  generally  covered  with  a  growth  of  scrubby  trees,  consisting 
of  birch,  willow,  cottonwood,  &c.  All  the  lakes,  as  well  as  the  larger  and  some 
of  the  smaller  streams,  contain  fi>h,  some  of  ^vhich,  the  mountain  trout,  are 
excellent.  The  fish  taken  in  most  of  the  lakes  and  along  the  lower  portions  of 
the  streams,  however,  are  of  an  inferior  kind,  or  the  better  species  deteriorated! 
through  the  impurities  of  the  water. 

Springs — thermal,  mineral,  and  otherwise. — In  the  matter  of  springs,  Nevada 
is  considerably  better  off  than  in  regard  to  streams  of  running  water,  the  former 
in  some  parts -of  the  State  being  quite  numerous,  many  of  them,  either  as  to  size, 
temperature,  or  the  composition  of  their  waters,  justly  accounted  geological 
curiosities.  They  occur  at  all  attitudes  and  under  nearly  every  peculiarity  of 
condition,  large  and  small,  deep  and  shallow,  cold,  hot  and  tepid ;  in  a  state  of 
ebullition  and  quiescence,  impregnated  with  every  variety  of  mineral  and  metallic 
substance,  and  perfectly  pure.  Sometimes  they  are  found  isolated,  and  at  others 
standing  in  groups.  Some  send  off  steam  and  emit  a  gurgling  or  hissing  noise, 
while  others  dt>  neither.  Some  of  these  groups  contain  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty 
springs,  varying  from  one  foot  to  thirty  in  diameter,  and  in  depth  from  two 
feet  to  a  hundred  or  more.  In  shape  they  incline  to  be  circular. 

The  mineral  and  thermal  springs  are  usually  situated  upon  a  mound  or  tumulus 
formed  from  the  calcareous  or  silicious  particles  brought  up  and  deposited  by 
their  own  waters.  These  mounds  often  cover  several  acres,  their  summits  being 
raised  to  a  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  adjacent  plains.  In  some  cases 
the  sides  of  the  springs  are  formed  of  these  limy  or  silicious  concretions,  raising 
them  in  huge  basins  several  feet  above  the  level  of  the  mounds  themselves, 
while  in  others  they  are  composed  simply  of  earth  or  turf.  The  water  in  most 
of  them  is  soft  and  agreeable  to  the  taste  when  cold,  and  so  transparent  that  the 
minutest  object  can  be  seen  on  the  bottom  of  the  deepest  spring;  even  the 
small  orifices  through  which  the  water  enters  being  distinctly  visible.  Fre- 


94  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

qnently  a  hot  and  a  cold  spring  are  situate  so  close  together  that  a  person  placed 
between  them  rnay  dip  one  hand  into  each  at  the  same  time.  From  most  of  them 
a  small  stream  issues,  the  water  in  many  merely  keeping  even  with  the  top, 
while  in  others  it  does  not  rise  so  high.  Occasionally  one  is  met  with  that  has 
already  become  extinct,  a  condition  to  which  others  seem  rapidly,  and  perhaps 
all  are  gradually  approaching.  These  fountains,  both  the  thermal  and  mineral, 
are  much  used  by  the  Indians  as  a  cleansing  or  curative  means,  and  there  is 
little  doubt*  but  some  of  them  possess  rare  medicinal  virtues.  Several  of  them 
have  already  become  places  of  much  resort  with  invalids,  the  sulphurous  and 
chalybeate  waters  being  found  particularly  efficacious  in  a  variety  of  diseases. 
To  the  Steamboat  springs,  in  Washoe  county,  the  largest  number  have  thus  far 
repaired,  more  because  of  their  greater  accessibility  than  their  superior  sanitary 
properties.  A  few  of  these  hot  springs  are  subject  to  a  tidal  action,  belching 
forth  at  timts  large  quantities  of  water,  followed  by  a  subsidence  that  may  last  for 
months  or  years. 

A  chemical  analysis  of  the  waters  of  Steamboat  springs  shows  them  to  con- 
tain in  various  proportions  the  chlorides  of  sodium  and  magnesium,  with  soda  in 
different  forms,  lime,  silica,  and  a  small  per  cent,  of  organic  matter.  Similar 
tests  made  of  the  waters  from  other  springs  disclose  nearly  the  same  constituent 
salts,  with  the  addition  in  some  cases  of  sulphur  and  iron.  Some  of  the  cold 
springs,  especially  those  found  in  the  larger  valleys,  are  quite  as  remarkable  for 
their  depth  and  dimensions  as  the  thermals.  It  frequently  happens  that  the 
streams  from  the  mountains,  after  sinking,  reappear  in  the  form  of  springs  along 
the  sides  or  out  in  the  middle  of  the  valleys.  '  Some  of  these  are  of  but  ordinary 
size,  while  others  are  immense  pools,  from  twenty  to  eighty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  over  one  hundred  feet  deep,  some  of  them  sending  off  considerable  streams  of 
pure  cold  water.  Not  all  the  cold  springs,  however,  are  free  from  disagreeable 
or  deleterious  minerals ;  many  of  those  found  on  the  plains  being  highly  offen- 
sive and  injurious.  From  some  of  them  even  animals,  though  suffering  with 
thirst,  refuse  to  drink. 

The  salt  beds. — These  constitute  not  only  a  notable  feature  in  the  chorogra- 
phy,  but  also  an  important  item  in  the  economical  resources  of  Nevada.  There 
are  a  number  of  these  salt  fields  in  different  parts  of  the  State ;  they,  like  the 
alkali  flats  and  mud  lakes,  being  confined  to  the  valleys  and  plains  in  which 
they  cover  the  points  of  greatest  depression,  the  most  of  them  being  adjacent  to 
or  encompassed  by  a  belt  of  alkali  lands.  The  heavier  deposits  are,  no  doubt,  of 
lacustrine  origin,  occupying  what  were  formerly  the  basins  of  inland  seas  or  ex- 
tended salt  lakes.  Their  formation,  it  would  seem  probable,  was  brought  about 
by  the  subsidence  of  these  lakes  through  evaporation  or  other  more  violent 
causes,  whereby  the  entire  saline  contents  of  their  waters  were  collected  and 
precipitated  at  these  points,  the  strata  of  clay  interposed  between  the  different 
layers  of  salt  being  the  result  of  floods  occurring  at  various  periods.  Situate, 
however,  in  valleys  from  which  the  waters,  having  no  escape,  spread  out  over 
large  surfaces  and  soon  evaporate,  leaving  the  salt  and  other  solid  substances 
with  which  they  are  charged  behind,  the  formation  of  these  saliniferous  beds 
may,  perhaps,  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the  agents  and  operations  now  in 
action,  without  presupposing  the  existence  of  others  about  which  less  is  known. 
Of  the  considerable  number  found  in  the  State,  three  of  these  beds  at  least 
merit  special  notice,  because  of  the  abundance  and  purity  of  their  product,  and 
the  facility  with  which  it  can  be  gathered.  That  at  Sand  springs,  Churchill 
county,  seventy  miles  east  of  Virginia  City,  extends  over  several  hundred  acres, 
a  portion  of  it  being  covered  with  water  to  the  depth  of  a  few  inches.  Under 
this  is  a  stratum  of  pure  coarse  salt  nearly  a  foot  thick,  and  which  only  requires 
to  be  gathered  in  heaps  or  thrown  on  a  platform  in  order  to  drain  off  the  water, 
which  is  soon  accomplished,  when  it  is  ready  for  sacking.  Under  this  top 
layer  is  another  composed  of  clay  of  equal,  and,  in  places,  of  greater  thickness 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  95' 

beneath  which  again  occurs  another  body  of  salt,  but  of  what  magnitude  is 
unknown,  the  ascertainment  of  this  point  being  of  no  practical  moment,  inas- 
much as  the  salt  taken  out  above  immediately  reforms,  the  space  soon  filling  up 
with  new  depositions  from  the  super-saturated  water.  This  bed  is  owned  by  a 
company  who  take  out  from  it  over  half  a  million  pounds  of  salt  per  month, 
the  mills  and  reduction  works  about  Virginia  City  obtaining  their  supplies  here, 
and  consuming  the  most  of  this  large  quantity,  a  little  being  ground  up  for  table 
use.  The  company  dispose  of  this  salt  ready  for  sacking  at  $20  per  ton  on  the 
ground,  the  freight  to  Virginia  being  about  $30.  Having  their  own  teams, 
however,  they  are  able  to  deliver  it  at  the  mills  for  $40  per  ton,  a  sum  consid- 
erably below  wBat  the  freight  alone  would  be  for  transporting  the  article  from 
San  Franciscor  whence,  for  several  years  at  first,  it  was  wholly  derived,  the 
freights  at  that  time  varying  from  $120  to  $180  per  ton.  At  these  prices,  ad- 
ding first  cost — say  $12  per  ton — many  thousand  tons  were  consumed  by  the 
mills  in  Nevada  prior  to  1863,  when  they  began  packing  it  in  from  the  salt 
pools  situate  forty-five  miles  southeast  of  Walker  lake,  whereby  the  price  was 
somewhat  reduced.  These  pools,  like  the  water  at  Sand  springs,  being  super- 
saturated with  salt,  deposit  it  to  a  depth  of  several  inches  about  their  borders, 
renewing  it  in  a  short  time  when  taken  away.  After  the  discovery  of  the  bed 
at  Sand  springs,  it  being  much  nearer  Virginia,  salt  ceased  to  be  brought  to 
that  place  from  these  pools,  though  the  mills  about  Aurora  still  continue  to  ob- 
tain their  supplies  there.  To  the  cheapened  price  of  this  community  is  the 
present  diminished  cost  of  reducing  silver  ores  in  Nevada  somewhat  due,  the 
annual  saving  thus  effected  being  in  some  of  the  larger  establishments  equiva- 
lent to  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  or  more. 

About  fifty  miles  north  of  Sand  springs,  being  also  in  Churchill  county, 
though  near  the  line  of  Humboldt,  is  another  and  still  more  extensive  salt  bed 
than  that  already  described,  its  superficial  area  being  nearly  twenty  square 
miles,  It  does  not  differ,  except  in  extent,  from  thcit  at  Sand  springs ;  the  water 
here  also,  instead  of  covering,  coming  only  to  within  U  few  inches  of  the  surface. 
At  this  place  there  is  first  an  inch  of  dry  white  salt  on  top,  then  six  inches  of 
wet,  overlying  a  stratum  of  tough  mud,  or  blue  clay,  a  foot  and  a  half  thick,  and 
filled  with  cubical  crystals  of  salt,  some  of  them  several  inches  square  and  bear- 
ing a  strong  resemblance  to  ice.  Under  this  clay  comes  another  layer  of  clean, 
coarse  salt,  reaching  downward  to  an  unknown  depth.  This  field  is  also  owned 
by  a  company  who  have  erected  a  railway  for  running  out,  a  platform  for  dry- 
ing, and  a  house  for  storing  their  salt.  Owing  to  its  distance  from  the  chief  point 
of  consumption,  Virginia  City,  but  little  of  this  salt  has  been  sent  to  that  place, 
though  the  Humboldt  .mills  and  those  at  Austin,  in  part,  have  drawn  from  here 
their  sifpply.  Large  as  is  this  bed,  it  is  surpassed  by  another  situate  in  Nye,  or 
possibly  in  Esmeralda  county,  the  location  of  the  boundary  between  the  coun- 
ties being  not  yet  well  settled.  This  deposit  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  S.  SW%  from  Austin,  and  seventy  miles  in  the  same  direction  from  lone, 
the  shire  town  of  Nye  county.  This  bed  covers  more  than  fifty  square  miles, 
over  nearly  all  which  the  salt,  clean,  dry,  and  white,  being  the  pure  chloride  of 
sodium,  lies  to  a  depth  varying  from  six  inches  to  two  feet.  This  is  the  surface 
deposit,  what  there  may  be  below  never  having  been  ascertained,  nor  does  it 
matter,  the  amount  in  sight  being  ample  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  whole 
world  for  centuries,  could  it  but  be  readily  furnished  at  the  points  where 
required ;  and  though  at  present  of  so  little  avail,  when  railroads  come  to  be 
extended  into  these  regions,  there  is  no  doubt  but  salt  can  be  shipped  to  Califor- 
nia, and  perhaps  to  more  distant  localities  with  profit.  Though  sold  on  the 
ground  by  the  companies  claiming  these  beds  at  one  cent  per  pound,  and  some- 
times for  less,  this  salt  should  be  afforded  at  a  price  scarcely  more  than  the  bare 
cost  of  gathering  it  up — in  most  instances  a  mere  nominal  sum.  Upon  the  great 
salmiferous  field  of  Nye  county  millions  of  tons  could  be  shovelled  up  lying  dry 


96  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

and  pure  upon  the  surface  to  a  depth  varying  from  six  inches  to  three  feet,  with 
most  likely  still  more  heavy  bodies  below.  This,  like  the  more  limited  beds 
elsewhere,  is  claimed  by  private  individuals,  either  under  some  of  the  various 
land  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  enactments  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  or  per- 
haps by  -virtue  of  certain  regulations  similar  to  those  adopted  by  the  mining 
community,  and  which  hitherto  have  constituted  the  tenure  of  their  mining  prop- 
erties. As  a  means  of  guarding  against  combinations  that  might  unduly  en- 
hance the  price  of  a  commodity  so  largely  used  and  so  indispensable  in  the  re- 
duction of  silver  ores,  it  might  be  expedient  for  the  general  government  to  take 
measures  to  prevent  these  salt  beds  being  so  completely  monopolized  by  private 
parties,  as  is  otherwise  likely  to  be  the  case.  Besides  these  more  extensive  beds, 
there  are  numerous  plains  upon  which  the  salt  is  deposited  to  the  depth  of  an 
inch  or  more  by  the  process  of  efflorescence,  tbe  soil  being  damp  and  impreg- 
nated with  saline  matters  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  At  these  spots  the  salt, 
generally  mixed  with  a  small  percentage  of  foreign  matter,  such  as  soda,  lime, 
or  magnesia,  is  gathered  by  simply  scraping  it  in  heaps  upon  the  surface,  which 
operation  must  be  performed  in  the  dry  season,  the  smallest  amount  of  rain 
causing  it  to  dissolve  and  wholly  disappear.  It  reforms,  however,  with  fair 
weather,  and  when  removed  is  speedily  replaced  by  new  depositions,  being  in 
this  respect  like  the  heavier  beds,  practically  inexhaustible.  This  admixture 
of  foreign  matter  does  not  seem  to  impair  its  value  for  the  reduction  of  ores, 
though  rendering  it  unfit  for  culinary  uses.  From  one  of  these  plains,  situate  in 
Big  Smoky  valley,  forty-five  miles  south  of  Austin,  the  mills  at  that  place  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Reese  river  region  obtain  their  principal'  supplies  of  salt,  it  being 
furnished  on  the  ground  at  one  cent  a  pound  ;  and  as  the  average  cost  of  hauling 
to  the  mills  is  not  over  twenty  dollars  per  ton,  the  latter  get  this  article  at  a 
comparatively  moderate  price.  Upon  these  salt  fields  there  are  no  signs  of  ani- 
mal or  vegetable  life,  though  it  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  coming  up 
through  the  saline  incrustation,  near  the  edge  of  the  largest  of  them,  is  a  fine 
spring  of  pure  cold  water;  similar  springs  being  found  either  upon  or  in  close 
juxtaposition  to  others.  The  deposits  of  salt  in  this  region  are  not  confined  to 
these  beds  or  plains;  it  sometimes  occurs  in  elevated  positions,  the  strata  often, 
in  the  aggregate  many  feet  thick,  being  imbedded  in  hills  and  mounds  of  such 
extent  as  to  almost  justify  their  being  called  mountains.  One  of  these,  situate 
In  the  newly  created  but  not  yet  organized  county  of  Lincoln,  in  the  extreme 
southeastern  corner  of  the  State,  covers  an  area  of  several  thousand  acres,  the 
layers  being  composed  of  cubical  blocks  of  salt,  often  a  foot  square,  nearly  pure, 
and  as  transparent  as  window  glass.  There  are  elsewhere  in  the  State  other 
mounds  of  salt,  the  strata  separated  by  layers  of  earth,  similar  to  this,  but  none, 
so  far  as  known,  of  equal  magnitude. 

Lumber  and  fuel. — The  only  timber  in  the  State  capable  of  making  really 
good  lumber  is  that  growing  on  the  eastern  slope  and  along  the  base  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountains.  A  species  of  white  pine  is  found  in  scattered  groves  on 
some  of  the  mountains  in  the  interior  and  eastern  part  of  the  State,  but  the 
trees  are  comparatively  small,  not  more  than  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter  and 
forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  the  wood  being  soft  and  brittle.  As  we  have  seen,  there  is 
but  little  timber  of  any  kind  in  the  valleys,  most  of  them  containing  none  at  all, 
while  many  of  the  mountains  are  equally  destitute.  The  prevailing  tree,  where 
there  is  any  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  is  the  pinon — a  species  of  scrubby  pine, 
having  a  low,  bushy  trunk,  from  six  to  twelve  inches  through  and  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  feet  high.  Having  a  close  fibre  and  being  full  of  resin,  it  is  heavy  and 
burns  well  even  when  green,  being  equal  to  most  kinds  of  hard  wood  in  the 
amount  of  heat  it  gives  out,  and  constituting  a  very  valuable  kind  of  fuel. 
Mixed  with  these  forests  of  pirlon  there  are  sometimes  a  few  juniper  trees  and 
mountain  mahogany — neither  of  any  service  for  lumber,  though  the  latter,  when 
dry,  is  an  excellent  fuel.  Along  most  of  the  larger  streams,  as  stated,  there  are 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  97 

a,  few  cottonwoods  and  small  willows;  while,  in  some  of  the  mountain  canons, 
these,  together  with  birch,  ash,  and  cherry,  are  found,  all,  however,  of  a  dwarfish 
growth,  and,  though  serviceable  for  fencing,  not  of  much  use  for  making  lumber. 
With  such  a  scarcity  of  good  timber  the  better  qualities  of  lumber  command 
high  prices  in  most  parts  of  Nevada.  Thus,  at  Virginia  City,  though  within 
eighteen  miles  of  the  best  timber  lands,  the  price  varies  from  $40  to  $60,  accord- 
ing to  kind  and  quality.  The  further  we  go  east  the  higher  the  price  rules; 
the  same  quality  of  lumber  that  can  be  bought  at  the  mills  in  the  sierra  for  $20, 
in  Carson  City  for  $30,  and  in  Virginia  City  for  $45,  per  thousand,  costs  $1 20  in  Aus- 
tin, where,  at  the  same  time,  that  made  from  the  white-pine  growing  in  the  vicinity 
can  be  bought  for  $60,  and  fire-wood  for  a  little  more  than  half  the  price  it  is 
in  Virginia.  Much  of  the  lumber  employed  in  the  erection  of  mills  and  the 
construction  of  machinery  about  Austin,  as  well  as  a  large  proportion  of  that 
used  on  other  buildings  in  that  place,  has  cost  from  $120  to  $200  per  thousand, 
it  being  considerably  cheaper  now  than  it  was  several  years  ago.  Worthless  as 
this  piiion  is  for  the  purposes  of  lumber,  many  of  the  houses  in  the  smaller  towns 
in  the  interior  are  built  of  it — a  face  being  hewn  upon  two  sides  of  the  stick, 
which  is  then  set  on  end,  the  houses  being  constructed  on  the  stockade  plan.  It 
is  also  used,  where  easily  obtained,  for  building  corrals,  and  to  some  extent  for 
fencing;  but,  bring  hard  and  knotty  as  well  as  of  small  size,  it  requires  much 
labor  to  prepare  it  for  even  the  most  common  use.  Wherever  this  tree  is  at  all 
abundant,  fuel  can  be  obtained,  delivered  at  the  mills,  for  from  $4  to  $5  per  cord, 
and  sometimes  a  little  less.  In  most  parts  of  Churchill  and  Humboldt  counties 
the  price  is  higher,  owing  to  the  greater  scarcity  of  timber  or  the  difficulty  of 
getting  it  down  from  the  mountains.  In  Star  City  and  Unionville,  Humboldt 
county,  juniper — a  very  poor  kind  of  fuel — costs  from  $10  to  $12  per  cord. 
Where  timber  is  scarce,  sage-brush  and  other  resinous  shrubs — these  being  found 
nearly  everywhere  in  the  country — are  used  for  fuel;  even  some  of  the  mills,  as 
the  Shtba  in  Humboldt,  and  several  others,  having  employed  them  wholly  or 
in  part  for  generating  steam,  for  which  purpose  they  answer  very  well,  save  the 
trouble  of  keeping  the  furnaces  supplied,  because  of  the  rapidity  with  which  they 
are  consumed.  In  Virginia  City  and  vicinity  wood  now  costs  from  $12  to  $16 
per  cord,  the  price  varying  with  the  quality.  These  are  about  the  rates  that 
have  obtained,  there  since  the  settlement  of  the  place,  though  at  times  much 
higher  have  ruled  when  the  season  was  inclement  or  the  article  scarce.  Coal, 
or  rather  lignite,  has  been  discovered  at  several  places  in  the  State,  yet  none  of 
these  deposits  have  as  yet  furnished  more  than  a  few  hundred  tons  of  fuel,  nor 
have  they  thus  far  been  sufficiently  developed  to  determine  their  capacity  and 
value  in  this  respect.  At  Crystal  Peak,  on  -the  Truckee,  near  the  California  line, 
a'  considerable  amount  of  work  has  been  done  in  the  exploration  of  coal-beds 
supposed  to  exist  at  that  point;  and  the  prospect  for  finding  there  a  large  deposit 
of  at  least  a  moderately  good  fuel  is  by  experts  considered  encouraging.  Beds 
of  peat  that  burn  well  have  also  been  found  at  one  or  two  places  in  Uie  State. 
A  railroad — which  can  now  be  counted  on  as  likely  to  be  built  within  the  next 
two  years,  connecting  the  Virginia  mining  district  with  the  heavy  forests  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada — must  tend  to  greatly  diminish  the  cost  of  fuel  and  lumber,  both 
of  which  are  required  in  enormous  quantities  in  the  business  of  raising  and 
reducing  the  ores,  the  erection  of  buildings,  timbering  the  mines,  &c.;  the 
sums  annually  expended  on  this  account,  though  scarcely  so  large  now  as  for- 
merly, amounting  to  over  $2,000,000,  nearly  one-half  of  which  it  is  believed 
might  be  saved  through  the  aid  of  a  railroad.  When  the  Central  Pacific  rail- 
road, now  in  rapid  progress  of  construction  across  the  sierra,  shall  have  been 
built  down  the  Truckee  river — as  it  is  calculated  it  will  be  within  a  year  and  a 
half  from  this  time — it  will  pass  a  point  not  more  than  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles 
distant  from  Virginia  City,  which  would  be  the  length  of  a  branch  road  required 
for  connecting  this  place  with  the  main  trunk,  and  through  it  with  the  heavily 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 7 


98  EESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

timbered  mountains  only  six  or  eight  miles  west  from  the  point  of  intersection 
of  the  two  roads.  The  suggestions  made  with  reference  to  the  propriety  of 
preventing  a  monopoly  of  the  salt-fields  by  private  individuals  might  perhaps  be 
extended  also  to  the  wood-lands,  more  especially  in  the  interior  mining  districts, 
where  these  lands  are  limited  in  extent,  and  where,  although  the  requirements 
for  fuel  will  probably  be  great,  large  tracts  have  already  been  secured  in  the 
nanner  alluded  to  by  private  parties  or  companies. 

MINES  AND  MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  NEVADA. 

• 

Various  minerals. — Not  only  the  precious,  but  also  many  of  the  useful  metals 
as  well  as  a  large  variety  of  mineral  substances,  are  met  with  in  the  State  of 
Nevada,  nearly  all  of  them  widely  diffused  and  some  of  the  latter  in  such  abun- 
dance as  cannot  fail  to  render  them  commodities  of  economic  value  when  greater 
facilities  shall  exist  for  transporting  them  to  the  points  of  manufacture  or 
consumption.  Besides  the  saliniferous  basins  already  described,  ores  of  copper 
and  iron  rich  in  these  respective  metals;  beds  of  sulphur,  from  some  of  which 
this  mineral  can  be  obtained  quite  pure,  though  generally  mixed  with  calca- 
reous or  other  foreign  matter  ;  deposits  of  lignite  and  possibly  true  coal,  though, 
so  far  as  explored,  Nevada  is  not  a  strongly  marked  carboniferous  region  ; 
cinnabar,  gypsum,  manganese,  plumbago,  kaoline  and  other  clays  useful  for 
making  pottery  and  fire-brick ;  mineral  pigments  of  many  kinds,  together  with 
many  of  the  more  important  salts  and  varieties  of  alkaline  earths  ;  soda  in  all 
its  combinations,  nitre,  alum,  magnesia,  &c ,  being  encountered  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  the  State  and  frequently  in  great  abundance.  Platiiimn  and  tin  have 
been  found  in  small  quantities,  the  latter  as  yet  only  in  stream-works  and  never 
in  place,  galena,  zinc,  antimony,  nickel,  cobalt,  arsenic,  &c.,  frequently  occur- 
ring in  combination  with  silver  and  other  metals.  Limestone,  granite,  marble,  and 
many  other  kinds  of  stone  suitable  for  building  purposes,  with  slate  adapted  for 
roofing,  are  common  and  in  some  instances  easily  obtained,  the  work  of  quarry- 
ing them  being  carried  on  above  ground.  The  most  useful  material  of  this 
class  consists  of  a  species  of  sandstone  and  a  volcanic  rock,  the  former  of  «. 
light  gray  and  the  latter  of  a  reddish  drab  color,  both  of  which  occur  in  masses 
quite  upon  the  surface,  and  when  fresh  from  the  quarry  are  so  soft  as  to  be 
easily  wrought,  though  afterwards  becoming  so  hard  as  to  resist  not  only  the 
influence  of  the  atmosphere,  but  also  a  high  degree  of  heat,  some  of  this  igneous 
rock  being  employed  for  smelting  and  roasting  works,  and  even  the  manufacture 
of  crucibles,  with  success.  That  iron  could  be  manufactured  to  advantage  in  the 
interior  of  the  State  where  the  freights  are  high  and  the  consumption  of  this 
article  so  considerable,  is  the  opinion  of  those  most  conversant  with  the  subject, 
and  there  is  a  strong  probability  that  works  of  this  kind,  upon  a  limited  scale  at 
least,  will  be  established  there  within  a  short  time.  One  of  the  heaviest  beds 
of  iron  ore  yet  dicovered  in  the  State  is  situated  in  the  western  part  of  Nye 
county,  and  though  not  far  distant  from  an  extensive  body  of  piiion  from  which 
an  excellent  article  of  charcoal  could  readily  be  made,  there  is  but  little  water 
and  no  good  land  or  important  mines  in  the  immediate  neighborhood;  wherefore, 
although  the  ore  is  abundant,  rich,  and  of  supposed  good  quality,  it  is  much  to 
be  questioned  whether  iron,  even  of  the  more  common  kind,  such  as  is  used  for 
dies,  shoes,  castings,  &c.,  could  be  made  here  with  profit,  and  consequently 
whether  this  ferruginous  bed  is  at  present  of  any  practical  importance.  Upon 
some  of  the  alkaline  flats,  as  well  as  about  certain  springs  and  other  localites, 
the  carbonate  of  soda  exists  so  pure  and  in  such  profusion  that  it,  like  common 
salt  and  other  similar  substances,  must  yet  become  one  of  the  staple  exports  of 
the  country.  At  present  but  a  very  limited  use  is  made  of  this  article,  it  being 
employed  only  by  the  laundrymen  and  soap  makers.  There  is  now  a  small 
establishment  at  Carson  City  engaged  in  manufacturing  sulphuric  acid,  the  raw 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  99 

material  bring  procured  from  the  sulphur  bed  near  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Ilum- 
boldt  river,  about  the  centre  of  Humboldt  county.  That  other  salts  and  mineral 
substances,  such  as  nitre,  borax,  alum,  &c.,  will  yet  be  found  in  this  State  in 
such  quantities  as  will  make  them  of  practical  value,  seems  probable,  though 
not  enough  is  *yet  known  as  to  the  extent  of  these  deposits  to  warrant  the  ex- 
pression of  a  positive  opinion  on  this  point.  Nevada  is  rich  in  organic  remains 
both  animal  and  vetetable,  some  of  the  latter  being  of  extraordinary  size  and 
beauty.  Huge  fragments  o/  fossiliferous  wood  and  even  the  entire  trunks  of 
large  trees  have  been  discovered  lying  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  often  in 
a  state  of  high  preservation.  There  are  springs  in  different  places?  the  waters 
of  which  being  highly  charged  with  silicious  or  ferruginous  properties,  are 
constantly  carrying  on  this  fossilizing  process  upon  animal  and  vegetable  mat- 
ter immersed  in  or  otherwise  sufficiently  exposed  to  their  operation.  No  dia- 
monds or  other  precious  stones  have,  so  far  as  is  known,  yet  been  discovered  in 
Nevada,  though  opals  and  agates,  the  latter  remarkable  lor  variety  and  beauty, 
have  been  found  at  many  places.  Neither  petroleum  nor  other  mineral  oil  has 
thus  far  been  met  with  in  the  country,  nor  do  the  indications,  so  far  as  observed, 
favor  the  supposition  that  they  will  ever  be  discovered  in  quantities  hereafter, 
the  bituminous,  like  the  carboniferous  signs  throughout  the  State,  being  scanty 
and  unsatisfactory. 

Characteristic  features  of  tlie  Cpmstock  ledge. — Taken  as  a  whole,  this 
ledge,  discovered  as  already  related,  is  not  only  by  far  the  most  valuable  silver- 
bearing  lode  yet  found  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  but  equals,  perhaps,  any  deposit 
of  the  precious  metals  ever  encountered  in  the  history  of  mining  enterprise,  its 
productive  capacity,  as  now  being  developed,  surpassing,  if  the  mass  of  its  ores 
do  not  in  richness  equal,  those  of  the  most  famous  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 
Being  then  so  important  in  itself,  and  holding  such  prominence  among  the  mines 
of  this  State,  a  somewhat  detailed  description  of  its  location,  character,  exploita- 
tion, and  future  prospects  may  not  be  out  of  place.  This  lode  is  situate  in 
Story  county,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  western  border  of  the  State. 
It  is  found  cropping  out  along  the  eastern  slope  of  Mount  Davidson,  a  lofty  em- 
inence in  the  Washoe  range  of  mountains,  which  form  a  lower  spur  of  the  main 
sierra;  with  which  it  runs  parallel,  being  separated  therefrom  by  Washoe  and 
Steamboat  valleys.  Mount  Davidson,  like  most  of  the  range  of  which  it  forms 
a  part,  is  extremely  dry  and  barren,  containing  but  little  water  or  grass,  and  at 
present  no  timber  at  all,  the  few  scrubby  pines  that  once  grew  upon  its  sides 
having  long  since  dissappeared.  Its  bulk,  like  that  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and 
most  of  the  mountain  ranges  in  this  State,  is  composed  of  granite,  though  largely 
made  up  of  serpentine,  quartz  gneiss,  sienite,  talcose,  calcareous  and  other  pri- 
mary rocks.  Breccia,  porphyry,  trap,  trachyte,  argillaceous,  and  silicious,  with 
nearly  every  kind  of  igneous  and  sedimentary  rock,  are  common  in  the  moun- 
tains of  chis  State,  some  rich  argentiferous  lodes  having  been  found  in  many  of  these 
formations.  The  summit  of  Mount  Davidson  is  7,827  feet  above  'tide  water, 
1,600  feet  above  Virginia  City  and  the  Comsto.ck  lode,  and  more  than  3, 000  feet 
above  the  plain  of  Carson  river  at  its  base.  The  direction  and  comparative  size 
of  this  lode,  the  length  and  relative  position  of  the  various  claims  upon  it,  and 
its  situation  with  reference  to  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill,  the /principal  towns 
in  the  neighborhood,  will  be  more  readily  understood  by  consulting  the  accom- 
panying diagram,  illustrating  these  and  other  points  of  interest  connected  there- 
with. The  strike  of  the  principal  or  mother  vein,  the  only  one  exhibited  on 
this  plat,  is,  as  will  be  seen,  about  fifteen  decrees  west  of  south,  the  northerly 
and  southerly  extremities  thereof  bearing  nearly  due  north  and  south.  In  width 
or  thickness  it  varies  on  top  from  twenty  to  two  hundred  feet,  the  most  of  it 
ranging  between  thirty  and  seventy  feet,  with  a  uniform  tendency  to  expansion 
as  penetrated  downwards.  The  ledge,  at  some  points  along  its  course,  as  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Savage  and  the  Gould  &  Curry  companies,  and  again  at  Gold 
Hill,  spreads  out  beyond  its  average  width,  it  reaching  at  the  latter  place  its 


100  RESOURCES   OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

greatest  thickness,  something  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  In  a  vertical 
direction  it  undergoes  a  similar  contraction  and  expansion,  pinching  at  points 
to  a  few  yards,  or  even  feet,  arid  again  extending  to  its  usual  size.  Though 
in  spots  appearing  in  high  rocky  projections,  it  does  not  show  itself  above* 
ground  throughout  its  entire  length,  there  being  considerable  stretches  where 
no  outcrop  is  visible.  That  it  preserves  its  continuity,  however,  below,  seems 
probable,  it  having  been  found  wherever  searched  after  to  any  great  depth. 
Nor  has  it  proven  prolific  in  ores  throughout  all  its.  parts,  there  being  a  number 
of  barren  spaces  along  it,  as  in  the  ground  extending  from  the  Central  to  the 
Gould  &  Curry  claim,  some  1,400  feet,  and  at  other  points  further  south,  in 
none  of  which  have  any  considerable  bodies  of  valuable  ores  been  found,  though 
explored  to  depths  varying  from  three  to  five  hundred  feet.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  geologists  that  within  these  hitherto  unproductive  spaces  paying  ores  will  yet 
be  reached,  though  not,  perhaps,  until  much  greater  depths  have  been  attained. 

In  this  as  in  most  large  and  fruitful  silver-bearing  lodes  the  valuable  ores, 
though  generally  diffused  throughout  the  mass  of  the  gange  or  vein-stone,  are 
still  found  to  be  more  abundant  in  certain  portions  thereof  called  bonanzas  or 
chimneys,  which  latter,  as  they  usually  have  a  pitch  lengthwise  the  lode,  must, 
according  to  their  position,  often  run  out  of  the  ground  of  one  company  into  that 
of  another  adjoining,  leaving  the  one  comparatively  poor  and  enriching  the  other. 
Under  this  arrangement  it  might  happen  that  one  of  these  barren  spots,  by  a 
bonanza  striking  into  it  at  a  greater  depth,  should  be  rendered  productive,  it 
being,  moreover,  liable  tp  become  so  without  reference  to  this  system  of  distribu- 
tion of  ores,  not  by  any  means  a  feature  of  all  mines.  In  its  upper  portions 
the  Comstock  lode  clipped  to  the  west  at  an  angle  of  about  sixty  degrees,  this 
angle  in  places  being  much  larger,  and  at  some  points. approximating  ninety 
degrees.  At  greater  depths,  varying  from  one  to  three  hundred  feet,  the  ledge 
after  gradually  assuming  a  perpendicular  position  is  now,  at  the  depth  of  seven 
hundred  feet,  found  pitching  to  the  east  at  an  angle  of  about  fifty  degrees,  the 
inclination  varying  somewhat  at  different  points  along  its  line.  In  the  develop- 
ment of  this  lode,  which  is  now  conceded  by  all  competent  judges  who  have  ex- 
amined it  to  be  a  regular  fissure  vein  of  the  largest  size,  the  usual  contractions, 
faults,  and  displacements  common  in  this  class  of  veins  have  been  encountered, 
and  though  causing  much  hindrance  and  extra  labor,  and  at  times  giving  rise  to 
no  little  doubt  and  discouragement,  they  have  in  no  case  destroyed  the  continuity 
of  the  vein  or  caused  it  to  be  wholly  lost  sight  of.  Dykes  of  trap  and  other  in- 
durated rock  have  interposed  at  many  points  to  check  the  work  of  exploration, 
while  elsewhere  imbedded  within  the  mass  of  the  lode  have  been  foi\nd  immense 
fragments  of  wall  rock  or  other  foreign  matter  barren  of  ore,  causing  much 
trouble  and  tending  to  depreciate  for  the  time  being  the  value  of  the  mines. 
But  in  nearly  every  instance  such  obstacles  have  been  overcome,  these  rocky 
barriers  being  penetrated,  and  these  bodies  of  worthless  material  disappearing 
before  the  persistent  efforts  of  well-applied  labor. 

The  Comstock  ledge  has  now  been  clearly  traced  and  identified  for  a  space, 
measured  m  a  straight  line,  of  a  little  more  than  one  mile  and  a  half,  throughout 
which  it  has  been  found  continuous  and  sufficiently  rich  in  the  precious  metals 
to  render  the  entire  body  of  the  ore-bearing  portions  of  the  vein  remunerative, 
with  the  exceptions  already  pointed  out.  This  .space  extends  from  the.  larger 
section  of  the  Ophir  company's  claim,  on  the  north,  to  that  of  the  Belcher,  and 
possibly  of  the  Uncle  Sam,  on  the  south,  some  of  the  rich  silver  sulphurates  char- 
acteristic of  the  mother  lode  having  been  found  in  the  latter,  though  not  at  the 
depth  yet  reached,  in  large  quantities.  As  stated,  the  rich  ores  have  been  found 
in  some  cases,  as  in  the  Ophir  and  Mexican  grounds,  and  at  Gold  Hill,  quite 
upon  the  surface,  while  in  others  it  has  only  been  reached  at  depths  varying 
from  fifty  to  five  hundred  feet.  In  the  Gould  &  Curry  claim  very  fair,  though 
not  what  was  then  considered  pay-rock,  was  met  with  in  the  outcropping^  of  the 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS  101 

ledge,  the  millable  ores  not  being  obtained  until  a  deptli  of  nearly  one  hundred 
feet  was  reached. 

•  In  the  ground  of  the  Savage  company,  adjoining  on  the  south,  they  were 
not  reached  until  a  much  greater  depth  had  been  attained,  while  in  that  of  the 
Hale  and  Norcross  company,  lying  next,  nothing  worth  putting  through  the 
batteries  was  met  with  until  their  shaft  had,  at  great  expense  been  sunk  to 
a  vertical  depth  of  more  than  500  feet.  In  the  Alpha,  Yellow  Jacket,  and 
Crown  Point  claims,  no  heavy  masses  of  millable,  ores  were  met  with  until 
they  had  been  penetrated  downward  from  one  to  three  hundred  feet,  while,  as 
before  intimated,  inN  the  space  between  the  claim  of  the  Gould  &  Curry  and 
that  of  the  central  company,  as  also  throughout  a  stretch  of  some  hundred  feet 
adjoining  the  ground  of  the  Chollar-Potosi  company  on  the  south,  and  perhaps, 
also,  in  a  like  space  similarly  situated  with  reference  to  the  Belcher  ground,  no 
metalliferous  deposits  of  magnitude  or  value  have  thus  far  been  developed. 
Much  labor  and  money  have  been  expended  in  efforts  to  t^ace  the  prolongation 
of  the  Comstock  ledge,  both  to  the  north  and  south,  of  what  are  considered,  in 
a  productive  sense  at  least,  its  present  termini ;  but  only  with  the  results  here- 
tofore indicated,  nothing  of  permanent  value  having  been  struck  along  the 
supposed  line  of  its  course,  rfr  adjacent  thereto,  beyond  these  points.  Quartzose 
ledges  exist  in  abundance,  both  to  the  north  and  south  within  the  belt  the  Com- 
stock is  presumed  to  occupy,  if  it  have  an  existence  outside  its  present  known 
limits ;  but  none  of  these,  nor  yet  any  of  the  numerous  lateral  ledges  in  close 
proximity  to  the  developed  section  of  the  mother  vein,  and  by  some  considered 
a  portion  of  it,  have  yielded  more  than  a  very  insignificant  percentage  of  the 
precious  metals,  nor  are  the  present  prespects  of  these  properties  such  as  to 
command  for  them  other  than  mere  nominal  prices  in  the  mining  share  market, 
many,  that  a  few  years  ago  sold  readily  at  high  prices,  being  no  longer  salable 
at  all.  Most  of  the  ledges  running  parallel  with  the  productive  portion  of>  the 
Comstock,  and  within  one  or  two  hundred  feet  of  the  latter,  have  been  the  cause 
of  much  expensive  litigation,  the  owners  of  the  main  lode  claiming  them  as  be- 
longing to  it  under  the  theory  that  they  would  all  unite  at  some  point,  probably 
at  no  great  depth  beneath  the  surface ;  a  view  that  the  courts  have  been  inclined 
to  sustain  arid  that  experience  tends  to  sanction. 

The  greatest  vertical  depth  to  which  the  Comstock  ledge  has  been  developed 
is  a  little  more  than  seven  hundred  feet,  there  being  several  shafts  along  it  from 
four  hundred  to  seven  hundred  feet  deep,  with  many  others  varying  in  depth 
from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet,  while  some  tunnels  now  under  way,  and 
soon  most  likely  to  be  completed,  will  strike  it  at  a  still  greater  depth.  The 
Sutro  tunnel  already  projected,  with  a  good  prospect  of  being  finished  in  the 
course  of  four  or  five  years,  will  strike  it  at  an  estimated  depth  of  eighteen 
hundred  feet  below  the  croppings  of  the  Gould  &  Curry  company,  the  highest 
point  upon  it.  This  work,  according  to  the  plan  proposed,  js  to  be  twelve  feet 
wide  and  ten  feet  high,  so  as  to  admit  of  a  double  train-way.  It  will  be  nine- 
teen thousand  feet  long,  cost  between  four  and  five  millions  of  dollars,  and  when 
finished  will  enable  this  lode  to  be  worked  with  probable  profit  to  a  depth  of 
three  thousand  feet  or  more.  The  proprietor  of  this  tunnel,  which  it  is  believed 
will  soon  become  an  urgent  necessity,  proposes  to  tax  the  different  companies 
upon  the  Comstock  ledge  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  for  every  ton  of  ore  raised 
after  the  work  is  completed,  and  they  are  actually  enjoying  the  benefits  of 
having  their  mines  drained  thereby.  The  work,  though  formidable,  is  greatly 
inferior,  both  in  cost  and  magnitude,  to  several  others  of  a  similar  kind  already 
completed,  or  under  way,  for  securing  deep  drainage  to  various  mines  in  Europe. 
In  the  year  1850  surveys  were  made  for  a  tunnel  in  the  Harz  mines,  Bruns- 
wick, to  be  nearly  fourteen  miles  in  length,  and  wnich  it  was  estimated  it  would 
require  twenty-two  years  to  finish.  Work  was  commenced  upon  this  tunnel  in 
July,  1851,  and  completed  in  June,  1864,  the  time  required  for  its  construction 
being  less  than  thirteen  years.  The  product  of  these  mines  is  only  about  half  a 


102  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

million  dollars  in  gold  and  silver,  per  annum,  and  the  additional  drainage 
secured  by  this  work  was  but  three  hundred  feet,  items  quite  insignificant  com- 
pared with  the  annual  yield  of  the  Comstock  lode,  and  the  depth  of  drainage  to» 
accrue  from  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  tunnel.  A  tunnel  some  fifteen  miles 
in  length,  designed  to  drain  the  principal  mines  at  Freiberg,  Saxony,  has  been 
in  progress  of  excavation  for  several  years,  forty  more  being  expected  to  insure 
its  completion;  nor  does  this  work  deepen  the  present  drainage  upon  those 
mines  to  anything  like  the  extent  attained  by  the  Sutro  tunnel.  Already  a 
number  of  extensive  tunnels  have  been  commenced,  designed  to  intersect  the 
Cometock  lode  at  depths  varying  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet 
beneath  the  surface.  Some  of  these,  after  being  partially  completed,  have  been 
abandoned;  upon  others  work  has  been  suspended  at  different  stages  in  their 
progress ;  while  upon  a  few  operations  are  still  being  vigorously  prosecuted,  with 
the  prospect  of  an  early  consummation  Some  of  the  shafts  now  being  sunk  it 
is  proposed  to  carry  ^  to  a  depth  of  twelve  or  fourteen  hundred  feet,  powerful 
pumping  and  hoisting  works  being  provided  for  the  purpose. 

ChdTacter,  quantity,  value,  and  distribution  of  ores  in  the  Comstock  ledge. — 
The  great  body  of  valuable  ores  contained  in  the  Comstock  ledge  consists  of  the 
black  and  gray  sulphurets  of  silver,  several. other  varieties  having  been  met  with 
in  small  quantities,  more  especially  near  the  surface.     Native  silver  is  found 
diffused  throughout  all  parts  of  the  vein;  and  while  no  large  masses  have  been 
obtained,  many  handsome    specimens    have   been   gathered  from  the  various 
claims,  the  aggregate  value  of  all  the  virgin  metal  taken  out  being  quite  large. 
Combined  with  this  ore  is  a  small  amount  of  the  baser  metals,  such  as  the  sul- 
phurets of  antimony,  lead,  iron,  copper,  &c.     These  are  present,  however,  owly 
in  limited  quantities,  this  ore  being  remarkable  for  its  freedom  from  these  and 
similar  substances;   hence  one  of  the  elements  of  its  comparatively  cheap  re- 
duction.    Associated  with  the  silver  is  a  notable  percentage  of  gold,  the  bullion 
extracted  during  the  earlier  working  of  the  mines  containing  a  larger  portion  of 
it  than  at  a  later  period  when,  through  improved  machinery  and  process;  s  and 
a  more  careful  manipulation  of  the  ores,  the  silver  was  more  closely  saved.     At 
Gold  Hill  the  bullion  extracted  at  first  was  worth  from  six  to  eight  dollars  per 
ounce;  now  it  is  reduced  to  between  two  and  three  dllars,  that  from  most  other 
points  along  the  Comstock  lode  being  worth  still  less  owing  to  the  heavy  ailoy 
of  silver  it  contains.     The  deeper  the  mines  at  Gold  Hill  are  worked  the  more  the 
metal  tends  to  silver.     By  simply  crushing  and  amalgamating,  from  seventy  to 
ninety,  on  an  average  more  than  eighty,  per  cent,  of  all  the  precious  metals  con- 
tained in  the  great  mass  of  the  Comstock  ores  can  be  extracted,  thereby  dispensing 
with  the  troublesome  and  expensive  process  of  roasting  or  smelting,  to  which 
only  a  small  quantity  of  the  extremely  rich  or  more  obdurate  ores  are  subjected. 
The  mass  of  rocky  matter  enclosed  between  the  walls  of  this  ledge  is  not  found 
to  be  ore-Hearing  throughout  all  its  parts.     In  spots  it  is  quite  barren,  the  ores 
being  collected  in  streaks  or  bunches,  leaving  the  balance  so  entirely  destitute 
of  metal,  or  only  so  slightly  impregnated  therewith,  as  to  render  it  not  worth 
raising.     In  other  places  the  metalliferous  ores  are  generally  diffused  throughout 
the  vein-stone,  being  here  usually  of  a  lower  grade  than  where  occurring  in  a 
more  concentrated  form.     This  lode,  having  been  found  remarkably  rich  at  two 
or  three  spots  quite  upon  the  surface,  and  these  happening  to  be  the 'points 
where  practical  operations  were  first  initiated,  led  at  the  outset  to  very  exag- 
gerated notions  of  its  probable  wealth,  and  a  consequent  overrating  of  its  pros- 
pective value ;   a  circumstance  to  which  much  of  the  wild  speculation,  as  well 
as  many  of  the  misapprehensions  and  mistakes,  that  subsequently  characterized 
the  management  of  these  mines,  as  well  as  the  financial  operations  connected 
therewith,  may  be  justly  attributed.     Under  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  and 
through  the  general  ignorance  prevailing  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  silver  mines, 
it  was  inferred  that  these  bonanzas  would  not  only  be  of  frequent  occurrence 
and  extend  indefinitely  downwards,  but  that  the  entire  body  of  the  lode  would 


WEST    OF   THE    EOCKY    MOUNTAINS.  103 

become  larger  and  more  productive  the  further  it  was  penetrated  in  that  direc- 
tion ;  a  supposition  which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  subsequent  experience  has 
failed  to  confirm,  most  of  these  rich  accumulations  of  ore  having  been  exhausted 
at  no  great  depth,  and  the  ledge  generally,  though  increasing  somewhat  in 
thickness  as  descended  upon,  having  undergone  no  corresponding  increment  in 
the  volume  of  the  ores,  or  in  the  average  yield  of  the  precious  metal s.  From 
many  of  the  mines  along  the  line  of  the  Cornstock  there  is  at  present  a  much 
greater  amount  of  ore  being  raised  than  formerly,  because  of  greater  facilities 
for  hoisting,  and  because  a  much  lower  grade  of  ore  is  now  being  worked  than 
aforetime.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  mining  at  this  place  large  bodies  of  metallif- 
erous -rock  were  left  untouched  in  the  upper  levels,  being  then  thought  too  poor 
to  justify  removal.  Many  of  these,  as  well  as  thousands  of  tons  of  rejected 
rock  thrown  upon  the  dump  piles,  have  since  been  sent  to  the  mills,  and,  with 
the  present  cheapened  means  of  reduction,  found  to  pay  a  profit ;  and  thus  it  is, 
that  while  the  average  yield  of  the  precious  metals  to  the  ton  of  ore  has  been 
steadily  diminishing,  the  aggregate  annual  product  of  bullion  from  these  mines 
underwent  a  rapid  increase  until  three  years  ago,  since  which  time  it  has  been 
maintained  at  about  the  same  point,  the  amount  being  about  fifteen  million  dol- 
lars per  annum.  For  the  first  two  or  three  years  after  they  were  opened,  the 
argentiferous  ores  taken  from  this  ledge  yielded  from  one  to  three  hundred  dol- 
lars per  ton ;  the  average  of  all  worked  being  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
while  •  some  small  lots  carefully  selected  went  much  higher,  ranging  from  five 
hundred  to  two  and  even  three  thousand  dollars  to  the  ton.  But  the  quantity 
of  this  class  was  limited,  and  it  is  probable  that  nearly  as  much  equally  rich 
ore  could  now  be  procured  by  carefully  culling  the  entire  mass  taken  out. 
These  rich  parcels  were  generally  sent  abroad  for  reduction,  or  sold  in  San 
Francisco  to  the  dealers  in  metalliferous  ores,  who  carried  them  to  Europe — 
mostly  to  Swansea — for  treatment. 

To  illustrate  more  clearly  the  depreciation  that  has  gradually  taken  place  in 
the  value  of  these  ores,  or,  rather,  the  manner  in  which,  through  the  agency  of 
cheapened  and  more  efficient  modes  of  treatment,  the  working  of  those  of  lower 
grade  with  profit  have  been  constantly  increased,  we  may  take  the  case  of  the 
Gould  &  Curry  company,  which  fairly  represents  the  experience  of  most  others 
in  this  particular.  This  company,  during  the  four  years  extending  from  1862 
to  1865,  inclusive,  extracted  from  their  claims  the  following  numbers  of  tons  of 
third  cla-s  ore,  being  the  bulk  taken  out,  with  the  average  results  stated,  viz  : 
1862,  8,427  tons;  average  yield  per  ton,  $104  50;  1863,  43,907  tons;  average, 
$80  44  per  ton;  1864,  55,602  tons;  average,  73  48  per  ton;  1865,  46,745 
tons ;  yield,  $45  41  per  ton.  For  the  year  1866  the  amount  of  ore  raised  will 
probably  not  differ  much  from  that  of  last  year,  while  the  yield  per  ton  will  be 
somewhat  less.  During  these  four  years  this  company  took  out,  in  addition  to 
the  foregoing,  fifty-two  tons  first  class  ore  that  averaged  81,800  to  tire  ton,  and 
14,103  tons  second-class  that  averaged  $234  to  the  ton,  while  one  or  two  mines 
are  doing  better.  The  average  yield  of  the  leading  mines  on  the  Comstock 
ledge  will  not  at  present  go  much  jf  any  above  $40  per  ton  ;  while  that  from 
the  more  auriferous  claims  at  Gold  Hill  will  scarcely  yield  $30.  With  the 
poverty  of  the  ores  the  profits  of  the  mine,  of  course,  diminish,  it  costing  but 
little  more  to  work  moderately  rich  than  it  does  poor  ores.  The  total  number 
of  tons  of  ore  raised  from  all  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  ledge  will  reach  and 
perhaps  exceed  one  million  and  a  half.  The  amount  of  ore  extracted  from  the 
various  mines  depends  upon  their  magnitude,  the  facilities  for  raising  them,  and 
the  energy  with  which  they  are  pushed.  Most  of  the  larger  claims  are  now 
taking  out  at  the  rate  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  thousand  tons  per  annum,  and  ons 
or  two  at  a  still  larger  rate.  The  total  amount  of  ore  extracted  from  all  the 
claims  situate  on-  the  Comstock  ledge  may  be  roughly  estimated  at  something 
over  one  and  a  half  million  tons. 


104  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Cost  of  mining,  hauling,  and  reduction  of  ores. — These  several  items  of  ex- 
pense vary  considerably  with  circumstances.  In  estimating  the  cost  of  raising 
or  mining  the  ores  it  is  customary  to  include  that  of  constructing,  hoisting,  and < 
pumping  works,  timbering  the  mines,  £c.,  as  well  as  of  the  actual  labor  of  ex- 
traction. The  cost  of  mining  the  ores  on  the  Oomstock  ledge  averages  at  pres- 
ent about  $14  per  ton,  the  price  varying  from  $10  to  ^20.  For  transporting  the 
ores  from  the  mine  to  the  mill  the  cost  is  at  the  rate  about  $1  per  ton  for  every 
mile  the  ore  is  carried,  unless  the  distance  be  long,  when  it  is  less.  Hauling 
the  shortest  distance  usual 'y  costs  $1  per  ton.  Where  contracted  for  in  large 
lots,  teamsters  haul  from  Virginia  City  to  Carson  river,  seven  miles,  for  $4  per 
ton.  Ores  treated  by  simple  crushing  and  amalgamation,  as  most  of  those 
taken  from  the  Comstock  ledge  are,  can  be  reduced  at  a  cost  varying  from  $10 
to  $16  per  ton,  the  average  price  being  about  $14.  The  auriferous  ores  at  Gold 
Hill,  which  require  but  few  expensive  chemicals,  do  not  cost  over  $8  or  $10  per 
ton.  Where  water-power  is  used  instead  of  steam  the  expense  is  about  S3  per 
ton  less,  these  all  being  reductions  of  from  thirty  to  seventy  five  per  cent,  on 
the  prices  that  prevailed  a  few  years  ago,  Where  dry-crushing  with  roasting 
or  smelting  is  adopted  the  expense  is  two  or  three  times  as  great  as  by  the  above 
method.  Not  more  than  one-twentieth,  if  at  present  so  large  a  proportion,  of  the 
ores  from  the  Comstock  mines  are  treated  by  dry-crushing,  though  upon  a  larger 
share  of  those  taken  from  the  ledges  in  the  interior  this  plan  could  be  adopted 
with  advantage,  the  most  of  them  requiring  roasting  or  smelting.  To  the  above 
rates,  except  in  the  item  of  hauling  ores  to  the  mills, 'which  is  about  the  same, 
there  must  be  added,  where  these  several  operations  are  carried  on  in  the  outside 
districts,  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent.,  the  price  of  labor  as  well  as  most 
kinds  of  material  being  that  much  dearer  there  than  about  Virginia  City.  Ex- 
tracting the  ores  from  some  of  the  extremely  narrow  ledges  in  these  localities  often 
costs  four  times  as  much  per  ton  as  from  the  claims  on  the  Comstock  lode,  so 
much  dead  work  being  required  to  secure  a  small  amount  of  ore  from  the  former. 

Annual  and  total  product  of  bullion  extracted  from  the  Comstock  ledge. — 
Assuming  the  gross  amount  of  ore  taken  from  the  Comstock  lode  to  have  been 
one  and  a  half  million  of  tons,  a  rather  low  estimate,  and  supposing  it  to  have 
yielded  at  the  rate  of  forty-four  dollars  per  ton,  the  present  average  being  less 
than  $40,  we  have  a  total  bullion  product  of  $66,000,000,  reckoning  to  the  end 
of  the  present  year.  That  this  estimate  of  the  gross  product  is  not  far  out  of 
the  way,  the  following  table  exhibiting  the  annual  yieJd  of  all  the  mines  in 
Nevada  tends  to  establish.  These  figures  are  for  the  most  part  derived  from 
authentic  sources,  and  although  they  embrace  the  yield  of  all  the  mines  in  the 
State,  we  have  only  to  make  a  deduction  of  about  five  or  six  per  cent,  for  the 
outside  districts,  the  balance  being  justly  credited  to  the  Comstock  lead  : 


1859  

$50,  000 

I860  

100,  000 

1861  

2,  275,  000 

1862  

^  6,500,000 

1863  

12,500,000 

1864  

.  .  16,  000,  000 

1865  

16,800,000 

1866  

16,500,000 

70,  725,  000 


*The  above  estimate  as  stated  is  derived  from  authentic  sources,  but  it  differs  some- 
what from  the  estimate  made  by  the  surveyor  general  of  Nevada  given  in  section  3,  clause 
33,  with  which  it  may  be  compared,  as  well  as  with  the  total  yield  reported  by  the  principal 
companies  on  the  Comstock  lode  as  given  in  clauses  35,  36,  37,  38,  39,  40,  41,  and  4:<i  in 
section  3. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROC^Y   MOUNTAINS  105 

An  allowance  of  five  million  of  dollars  would  undoubtedly  cover  the  product 
of  all  the  outside  mines,  making  that  of  the  Comstock  vein  to  be,  as  above, 
nearly  $66,000,000.  The  rate  at  which  this  lode  has  been  yielding  heretofore 
can,  in  all  likelihood,  be  kept  up  for  an  indefinite  period  to  come,  there  being 
no  example  in  the  history  of  silver  mining  of  a  vein  of  this  magnitude  and 
character  being  exhausted  or  giving  out,  though  many  have  been  worked  steadily 
for  centuries  and  in  some  instances  to  depths  three  or  four  times  as  great  as 
that  yet  reached  on  any  part  of  the  Comstock  lode.  The  yearly  turn  out 
of  these  mines  could  easily  be  enlarged,  as  it  no  doubt  will  be  hereafter, 
when  new  levels  shall  be  opened  or  new  claims  brought  to  a  productive 
condition,  and  additional  works  shall  be  supplied  for  raising  and  reducing 
the  ores.  That  their  annual  product  will  be  augmented  to  twenty  millions 
or  more,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  seems  quite  likely.  It  could  even, 
with  the  present  me«,ns  for  extracting  the  ores,  be  increased  several  millions 
yearly  were  the  leading  companies  disposed  to  employ  a  larger  number  of  cus- 
tom mills  and  to  adopt  the  rushing  and  exhaustive  system  in  vogue  a' few  years 
ago ;  but  which,  while  it  secured  large  aggregate  returns,  was  found  to  be 
attended  with  great  waste  and  to  tend  to  a  rapid  depletion  of  the  mines.  As  a 
return  to  this  plan  cannot  therefore  reasonably  be  looked  for,  the  anticipated 
increase  of  bullion  may  be  expected  to  grow  out  of  the  causes  above  mentioned, 
in  conjunction  with  a  more  economical  and  perhaps  efficient  reduction  of  ores, 
whereby  those  of  a  lower  grade  than  are  now  worked  can  be  treated  with  profit. 
The  annual  yield  of  none  of  the  older  claims  has  been  as  large  for  the  past  two 
years  as  it  was  for  two  or  three  years  previous  to  that  time,  the  deficiency  being 
supplied  by  several  new  claims  that  have  since  become  productive,  such  as  the 
Hale  &  Norcross,  Crown  Point,  and  others.  Thus  the  Gould  &  Curry  com- 
pany, whose  mine  did  not  begin  to  turn  out  bullion  in  any  quantity  until  1862, 
produced  that  year  $858,819,  in  1863  $3,887,755,  in  1864  $4,921,516,  and  in 
1865  $2,401,060,  the  product  the  present  year  being  about  the  same  as  last. 
The  entire  amount  of  the  precious  metals  taken  from  this  mine,  calculating  to 
ihe  end  of  the  year  1866,  amounts  to  about  fourteen  aud  a  half  millions  of 
dollars.  From  the  Savage  mine  there  has  been  extracted  during  the  same  time 
about  $4,500,000,  the  total  yield  for  the  year  ending  July  10,  1866,  havirfg 
been  $1,256,663.  The  Hale  &  Norcross,  which  only  lately  began  to  yield 
largely,  is  now  producing  at  the  rate  of  about  $1,500,000  per  annum.  The 
product  of  the  Imperial  mine  at  Gold  Hill  was,  for  the  year  ending  May  31, 
1865,  $854,630.  For  the  last  year  it  has  not  yielded  so  largely,  the  same 
remark  being  applicable  to  most  of  the  formerly  highly  productive  mines  near 
it,  as  well  as  to  many  others  near  Virginia  City,  such  as  the  Ophir,  Mexican, 
Central-Chollar,  Potosi,  &c.,  from  none  of  which  has  there  been  anything  like 
the  amount  of  bullion  extracted  the  last  two  years  that  there  was  for  the  two 
years  preceding,  while  upon  one  or  two  of  them  labor  has  nearly  ceased.  The 
cause  of  this  falling  off  is  not  so  much  in  the  poverty  of  the  mines  themselves, 
some  of  which  have  been  amongst  the  most  prolific  on  the  Comstock  lead,  and 
are  still  known  to  be  rich,  as  irf  a  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  owners  in 
failing  to  provide  the  means  for  draining  them  of  water  and  a  renewal  of  pros- 
pecting operations.  On  some  of  these  mines  work  has  been  suspended  until 
more  powerful  machinery  for  hoisting  and  pumping  can  be  supplied,  while  in  a 
few  other  cases  it  has  been  for  want  of  adequate  means  to  go  on,  or  because  the 
small  amounts  of  good  ore  at  one  time  obtainable  in  the  mine  having  given  out, 
the  owners  have  become  discouraged  or  concluded  to  discontinue  operations 
until  the  adjacent  mines  have  been  drained  and  explored. 

Accruing  profits,  dividends,  losses,  disbursements,  fyc. — Of  the  net  profits  that 
have  accrued  to  the  owners  of  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock  ledge,  taking  them 
as  a  whole,  it  is  impossible  to  make  any  accurate  computation.  In  many  of  the 
morp  valuable  claims  but  little  capital  was  at  first  invested,  the  owners  being 


106  RESOURCES    OF   THE 'STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

the  original  locators,  or  purchasing  them  from  the  latter  for  small  and  often  mere 
nominal  prices.  This  was  more  particularly  the  case  with  the  numerous  small 
but  extremely  rich  claims  at  Gold  Hill,  as  well  as  the  Ophir  ind  Mexican  near 
Virginia  City.  At  first  there  were  no  taxes  of  any  kind  upon  the  product  of 
these  mines ;  the  body  of  ore  was  large,  exceedingly  rich,  easily  extracted — 
thousands  of  tons  being  found  in  the  croppings  above  ground — and  the  most  of 
it  capable  of  being  reduced  at  a  comparatively  small  cost ;  wherefore  the  profits 
to  the  owners,  or  at  least  to  such  of  them  as  had  come  by  the^e  properties 
cheaply,  were,  during  the  first  three  or  four  years,  not  only  steady,  certain,  and 
large,  but  in  many  cases  enormous  ;  and  had  better  judgment  been  exhibited  at 
that  period  in  working  the  mines,  and  more  caution  in  properly  securing  their 
titles,  or  had  greater  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  their  proceeds  been  ob- 
served by  the  owners,  much  of  the  disaster,  loss,  and,  in  some  instances,  final 
ruin  that  overtook  both  might  have  been  avoided.  For  the  development  of  these 
mines  and  the  working  of  the  ores  few  assessments  were  ever  required,  the 
most  of  them  being  not  only  self-sustaining  but  dividend-paying  from  the  start. 
Prior  to  the  erection  of  steam-mills  the  argentiferous  ores  were  sold  and  sent  out 
of  the  country  for  reduction,  the  auriferous  rock  at  Gold  Hill  being  worked  by 
arrastras,  a  slow  method,  but  one  that  answers  well  where  the  rock  is  rich,  and 
simple  crushing  and  amalgamating  serves  the  purpose.  Another  advantage  at 
this  early  day  was,  the  mines  were  mostly  owned  by  single  individuals,  or  two 
or  three  at  most,  acting  as  partners,  and  not  by  large  incorporated  companies ; 
and  thus  a  source  of  much  wastefulness  and  mismanagement,  not  to  say  pecula- 
tion and  fntud,  was  guarded  against.  So  large  was  the  4  income  from  some  of 
these  claims  at  Gold  Hill  during  the  period  we  are  considering  that  they  readily 
commanded  from  five  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars  per  foot,  the  net  monthly  profits 
derived  from  them  varying  from  five  hundred  to  three  thousand  dollars  per  linear 
foot.  In  some  cases  persons  owning  but  ten  feet  enjoyed  from  this  source  an 
annual  revenue  of  more  than  twenty  and  even  approximating  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  Nor  were  these  princely  revenues  confined  to  the  claims  in  Gold  Hill, 
proper,  (a  mound  of  quartz  some  three  or  four  hundred  feet  in  length ;)  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Mexican  and  Ophir  for  a  time  fared  nearly  as  well.  This  tem- 
porary productiveness  of  the  mines,  leading,  as  has  already  been  observed,  to 
the  subsequent  high  prices  and  extravagant  notions  of  their  prospective  value, 
which  in  turn  caused  the  undue  excitement  and  over-speculation  that  culminated, 
on  several  distinct  occasions  not  far  separated,  in  general  disappointment  ancf 
loss.  How  frequently  and  extensive  these  losses  have  been  may  in  some  measure 
be  gathered  from  the  following  tables  exhibiting  the  fluctuations  in  the  prices  of 
such  mining  stocks  as  have  been  generally  dealt  in  by  the  board  of  brokers,  an'd 
which,  although  they  do  not  embrace  all  the, productive  mines  in  the  State,  suf- 
ficiently indicate  the  fate  that  at  one  time  or  another  has  overtaken  a  large  ma- 
jority of  them. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS 


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110 


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WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS, 


111 


Table  showing  t.Tte  fluctuations  in  mining  shares  from  June  29,  1866,  to  Scp- 

tcmler  30,  1866  - 


Name  of  company. 

June 

29. 

July 

10. 

July 
20. 

July 
30. 

Aug. 
10. 

Aug. 
20. 

Aug. 
30. 

Sept. 
10. 

Sept. 
20. 

Sept, 
30. 

Gould  &  Curry                 per  ft. 

$700 

$725 

$720 

$705 

$715 

$740 

$700 

$710 

$600 

$610 

Ophir            .do. 

210 

235 

280 

245 

•272 

320 

210 

210 

200 

207 

S'lva^e                                     do 

900 

865 

925 

950 

1  200 

1  150 

1  085 

1  160 

1  100 

1  115 

('"'ollar-Potosi  do.  . 

183 

185 

190 

171 

180 

173 

]  •„'!) 

136 

115 

111! 

1  1  ill  e  &,  Norciws  do.. 
Slu'ba                                     do 

1,275 

1,260 

1,300 

1,425 

1,  6GO 

1,650 

],600 

1,750 

1,680 

1,800 

I);riey                              do 

• 

5i 

*i 

\Y  ;do  -West                            do 

Bullion  '  do  .. 

57 

58 

47* 

47 

25 

27 

20 

23 

20 

15 

El  Dorado  -  do 

24' 

50 

47 

38 

39 

27i 

1H 

14-1- 

-1  ' 

4 

Sierra  Nevada  do  . 

2 

4i 

5 

41 

2i 

6i 

N 

2| 

Yellow  Jacket  do  .  . 

7CO 

580 

590 

945 

722 

630 

730 

770 

685 

682 

Baltic             .                          do 



Sacramento         .  .                do 



Lady  Bryan                          do 

Imperial  do  .  . 

ICO 

104 

94 

94 

94 

90 

95 

% 

84 

82 

Crown  Point                   .       do 

9UO 

700 

850 

875 

925 

950 

935 

880 

825 

875 

Belcher  do  .  . 

162 

170 

155 

130 

149 

108 

125 

120 

115 

94 

Alpha  do  . 

206 

100 

95 

50 

115 

120 

103 

80 

Confidence  do.. 

55 

50 

51 

43 

59 

4i) 

55 

De  Soto                                  do 

3-i 

These  tables  cover  but  a  comparatively  shot  period  and  do  not  show  the  more 
extreme  and  violent  fluctuations  that  took  place  during  the  earlier  periods 
in  the  history  of  mining  speculations.  Thus  in  the  earfier  part  of  the  summer  of 
1859  the  Ophir  ground  could  be  bought  for  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the  Gould 
&  Curry  for  three  dollars  per  foot.  In  less  than  eight  months  the  former  had 
risen  to  $1,000,  and  the  latter  to  $600  per  foot,  and  though  the  Guold  &  Curry 
stock,  owing  to  assessments,  and  the  fact  that  no  ore  was  being  taken  out,  fell 
during  the  summer  of  1861  to  $200  per  foot,  we  find  that  less  in  than- two  years 
from  that  time  it  was  selling  currently  at  the  rate  of  $5,000  per  foot,  and  again 
but  one  year  thereafter  for  less  than  $1,000,  and  though  it  subsequently  rallied 
somewhat,  selling  in  April,  1865,  for  a  little  over  $2,000  per  foot,  it  can  at  the 
present  time  be  bought  for  about  one  fourth  that  sum;  nor  is  this  an  extreme 
case,  most  of  the  other  claims  on  the  Comstock  ledge  having  undergone  similar 
vicissitudes,  while  some  at  Gold  Hill  have  fluctuated  still  more  widely.  At  one 
time  the  Empire  ground  could  not  be  bought  at  $10,000  per  foot;  now  it  can  be 
had  for  a  little  more  than  $1,000.  The  Sheba,  Daney,  Wide  West,  Burning 
Moscow,  Real  del  Monte,  and  others  that  might  be  named,  though  now  selling 
for  almost  nominal  prices,  and  some  of  them  not  salable  at  all,  were  once  sell- 
ing currently  at  $500  per  foot,  unon  most  of  them  expensive  mills  and  hoisting 
works  having  since  been  erected.  Hundreds  of  claims  that  during  these  period- 
ical seasons  of  excitement  were  finding  buyers  readily  at  sums  varying  all  the 
way  from  one  to  a  hundred  dollars  per.foot  are  now  no  longer  heard  of,  being  in  fact 
of  no  value  whatever.  In  the  shares  of  the  productive  mines  on  the  Comstock 
ledge  it  is  beileved  no  further  depreciation  will  be  likely  to  take  place,  but  rather 
that  most  of  them  will  advance  in  price,  the  payment  of  dividends  suspended 
upon  many  of  them  during  the  past  year  being  gradually  resumed,  and  though 
not  so  large  as  formerly,  with  a  prospect  of  being  continued  hereafter.  The 
Hale  &  Norcross  company  are  now  making  monthly  dividens  of  $75  per  foot ; 
the  Yellow  Jacket,  of  $50 ;  the  Guold  &  Curry,  of  $25 ;  and  many  other  com- 
panies greater  or  less  amounts,  while  a  few,  owing  to  extra  expenses  the  past  year, 


112  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

are  not  making  any,  but  expect  to  do  so  in  a  few  weeks  or  months.  Previous 
to  June  1, 1865,  the  Empire  company  had  taken  from  their  mine  a  sum  total  of 
$1,500,000,  of  which  $287,500  were  paid  in  dividends.  Including  the  product 
of  the  present  year,  the  Gould  &  Curry  company  have  taken  from  their  mine 
a  grand  total  of  $14,000,000,  of  which  $6,500,000  have  been  paid  out-in  gen- 
eral disbursements  and  improvements ;  a  little  over  $3,000,000  for  work  done  by 
custom  mills ;  the  balance,  something  over  $4,000,000,  having  been  paid  to  the 
stockholders  in  dividends,  while  the  assessments  levied  have  been  comparatively 
small.  The  extent  to  which  assessments  have  been  levied  upon  the  principal 
mines  in  various  parts  of  the  State  recently,  dividends,  d£c.,  can  readily  be  seen 
by  reference  to  the  following  tables  :  • 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


•;ooj  jad 
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8888558 


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H.  Ex.  Doc.  29- 


114 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 


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WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


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WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  119 

From  the  foregoing  tables  it  will  be  perceived  that  several  mines  upon  which 
heavy  assessments  have  been  paid  are  now  worth  nothing  at  all,  the  Baltic, 
North  Potosi,  and  the  White  &  Murphy,  in  the  Washoe  district,  the  Antelope 
and  Wide  West  in  Esmeralda,  and  the  Sheba  in  Humboldt,  being  cases  in  point. 
It  will  also  be  seen  that  in  other  cases  of  this  kind  though  the  assessments 
per  foot  are  much  less,  the  total  amount  collected  and  expended  upon  these  now 
worthless  mines  is  large,  owing  to  the  great  number  of  feet  they  contain,  the 
Baltimore  American,  Amador,  Buckeye,  Burnside,  &c.,  being  examples  of  this 
class.  The  Alpha  is  quoted  as  worth  only  $70  per  foot,  while  the  assessments 
amount  to  $1,240  per  foot,  from  which,  if  this  quotation  is  to  be  accepted  as 
indicating  its  true  value,  it  would  appear  that  the  stockholders  of  this  mine  have 
sunk  over  $325,000,  besides  the  original  cost  of  their  grounds ;  a  view  that  the 
actual  facts  in  this  particular  case  will  hardly  justify,  the  company  owning  a 
valuable  hoisting  works  and  the  prospects  of  their  mine  being  far  from  desperate. 

The  above  tables  contain  the  names  of  only  a  small  portion  of  the  companies 
that  have  been  organized,  generally  incorporated  at  considerable  expense,  for 
the  purpose  of  mining,  or  rather  perhaps  it  should  be  said  dealing  and  specu- 
latings  in  mine  in  this  State  ;  nor  do  they  indicate  more  than  one  in  a  hundred  of 
the  ledges  that  at  some  time  between  the  summers  of  1860  and  1864  were 
supposed  to  possess  some  considerable  value,  and  upon  which  more  or  less  work 
was  during  that  period  performed.  These  ledges  were  not  confined  to  the  so- 
called  Washoe  district,  meaning  the  central  western  portion  of  the  State,  but 
were  scattered  all  over  it  except  the  extreme  northern,  eastern,  and  southern 
parts,  which  had  not  then  been  much  explored.  The  amount  of  money  expended 
upon  or  about  these  ledges  in  various  ways,  the  most  of  it  in  attempts  at  open- 
ing them  with  shafts  or  tunnels,  varied  from  the  smallest  sum  to  $100,000,  being 
in  the  aggregate  very  large,  not  less  perhaps,  labor  included,  than  three  or  four 
millions  of  dollars,  nearly  all  of  which,  though  not  illegitimately  applied — the 
prospecting  of  these  mines  being  a  necessary  measure— was  practically  lost, 
very  few  of  them  having  exhibited  a  sufficient  quantity  of  pay  ores  to  impart 
to  them  any  value.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  but  few  of  them 
have  been  opened  to  any  great  depth,  leaving  a  chance  for  the  finding  of  more 
metalliferous  ores,  should  they  ever  be  more  thoroughly  explored,  as  many  of 
them  undoubtedly  will  be.  In  speaking  of  this  class  of  lodes  on  which  more 
or  less  labor  has4>een  expended,  no  allusion  is  made  to  the  still  larger  class, 
numbered  by  thousands,  which  were  located  under  the  laws  of  the  various  dis- 
tricts, and  after  being  held  for  a  short  time  were  abandoned,  being  forfeited  for 
want  of  the  requisite  improvements,  and  upon  which,  fortunately,  no  work  was 
done  at  all.  But  even  this  class  did  not  fail  in  seasons  of  excitement  to  possess 
at  least  a  nominal  value  in  the  mining-share  market,  some  of  them  being  disposed 
of  to  the  ignorant  or  credulous  for  considerable  sums  of  money.  Fortunately 
this  mode  of  procedure  is  now  pretty  much  over  with,  never,  it  is  hoped,  to  be . 
again  reinstated.  It  will  be  seen  by  these  tables  that  while  the  losses  from  the 
depreciation  of  mines  upon  which  assessments  have  been  paid  have  been  heavier 
in  the  Washoe  district,  they  have  been  quite  as  frequent,  considering  the  entire 
number,  and  even  more  complete,  in  the  outside  districts,  where,  so  far  as  the 
stock  reports  indicate,  all  values  would  seem  to  have  been  extinguished  for  this 
species  of  property.  Of  the  seventy  millions  of  dollars  extracted  from  the  mines 
in  Nevada,  it  is  questionable  whether  even  one-third  has  been  paid  to  the  share- 
holders in  the  shape  of  dividends — not  enough  in  many  cases  to  cover  the 
assessments  they  have  been  called  upon  to  pay;  while  it  is  well  known  the  mines, 
taken  as  a  whole,  with  all  improvements,  would  not  sell  for  anything  like  what 
they  cost.  Yet  at  present  many  of  these  properties  are  depressed  in  price  far 
below  their  intrinsic  value,  as  the  experience  of  the  future  will  undoubtedly 
show. 


120  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

Extent  and  cost  of  underground  work. — Including  tunnels,  shafts,  aclitsr 
drifts,  and  Actual  stopings  excavated  in  the  business  of  exploitation,  prospecting, 
and  ventilating  the  Comstock  vein,  it  is  estimated  that  the  various  companies 
owning  mines  along  it  have  executed  an  amount  of  subterranean  work  equal  to 
nearly  forty  miles  in  linear  extent.  The  expense  attending -this  kind  of  work 
depends  so  wholly  upon  their  size,  length  or  depth,  the  material  to  be  removed 
or  penetrated,  and  other  circumstances  surrounding  each  particular  case,  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  fix  upon  a  figure  indicating  their  average  cost.  The  price  for 
excavating  shafts  and  tunnels  ranges  from  five  to  fifty  dollars  per  running  foot, 
many  of  the  larger  tunnels  having  cost  throughout  more  than  twerfty  dollars 
per  foot.  These  prices,  as  are  all  the  other  money  estimates  in  this  report  being 
based  on  specie  values.  The  sinking  of  the  larger  and  deeper  shafts,  in- 
cluding timbering,  has  generally  cost  from  twenty  to  forty  dollars  per  foot, 
The  large  shaft  intended  for  both  working  and  prospecting  purposes  now  being 
put  down  jointly  by  the  Empire  and  Imperial  companies  at  Gold  Hill, 
estimated  throughout,  will  cost  at  the  rate  of  fifty-eight  or  sixty  dollars  per  foot. 
This  is,  however,  of  extra  large  dimensions,  being  seven  feet  four  inches  by  thirty 
feet  eight  inches,  and  to  be  carried  down  1,200  feet.  It  will  call  for  twelve 
months'  time  and  an  expenditure  of  about  $80,000  to  complete  it.  Short  tunnels 
and  shafts  of  moderate  depth,  where  the  ground  is  tolerably  favorable,  can  be 
excavated  for  six  or  seven  dollars  per  foot,  and  sometimes  for  less.  In  this 
kind  of  work  on  and  about  the  Comstock  ledge  there  has  been  expended, 
between  two  and  three  millions  of  dollars,  exclusive  of  the  expense  attendant 
on  the  removal  of  the  ores  and  the  timbering  up  of  the  mines. 

4.— MINING  PROPERTY,  ETC. 

Number  and  capacity  of  mills,  hoisting  works,  8fc. — There  are  at  this  time 
170  mills  for  the  crushing  and  reduction  of  ores  in  the  State  of  Nevada.  This 
number  embraces  only  such  establishments  as  are  now  completed  and  ready  for 
running  or  nearly  so,  there  being  several,  some  of  them  of  large  capacity,  in 
course  of  construction,  but  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  warrant  speaking  of 
them  as  being  already  in  existence.  These  mills  carry  2,564  stamps,  weighing 
from  400  to  800  pounds  each,  the  average  being  about  600  pounds,  and  have  an 
aggregate  capacity  equal  to  6,322  horses.  Their  average  cost  has  been  about 
$60,000,  or  an  aggregate  of  810,000,000,  one  of  them,  the  Gould  &  Curry, 
carrying  80  stamps  and  supplied  with  two  large  engines,  has  dost,  with  grounds, 
alterations,  and  surroundings,  over  $1,000,000  ;  several  others  have  cost  from 
$150,000  to  $250,000,  the  Ophir,  in  Washoe  valley,  having  cost  much  more. 
Of  this  number  35  are  driven  by  water  and  the  balance  by  steam,  a  few  of  each 
class  using  both  water  and  steam.  Of  these  mills  36  are  in  Story  county,  34 
in  kyon,  10  in  Washoe,  8  in  Ormsby,  and  1  in  Douglas,  a  total  of  89,  all  of 
which  are  running  on  Comstock  ore ;  Esmeralda  county  contains  21  mills,  Nye  8, 
Lander  22,  Humboldt  5,  and  Chtirchill  4.  Some  of  these  structures  are  very 
substantial,  being  built  of  brick  and  granite  or  other  stone ;  some,  on  the  contrary, 
being  cheap  and  fragile ;  the  machinery,  however,  is  in  most  cases  good.  At  the 
time  many  of  them  were  erected  labor,  freights,  and  material  were  much  higher 
than  at  present,  wherefore  they  cost  a  great  deal  more  than  equally  good  estab- 
lishments would  now  do  Attached  to  most  of  these  mills  are  shops,  ore  and 
timber  sheds,  and,  in  some  cases,  boarding-houses,  &c.,  the  cost  of  which  is  gen- 
erally included  with  that  of  the  mill.  Twenty  per  cent,  or  more  of  these  mills  are 
not  at  present  running,  most  of  those  lying  idle  being  in  the  outside  districts. 
Those  employed  upon  the  Comstock  ores  are  mostly  kept  running,  except  a  few 
that  may  be  stopping  for  repairs.  Of  all  the  mills  in  Esmeralda  county  not 
more  than  one-half  are  at  work,  nor  have  they  been  for  the  past  two  years.  In 
Lander  county  there  aie  also  many  unemployed,  particularly  about  Austin.  The 
causes  of  these  stoppages  are  various  ;  in  a  few  cases  the  mills  are  imperfect 
and  not  fit  to  do  good  work.  In  others  they  have  been  tied  up  with  litigation, 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  121 

or  perhaps  been  unable  to  run  steadily  for  want  of  water.  The  principal  trouble, 
however,  in  both  Lander  and  Esmeralda  has  been  an  insufficiency  of  pay-«res 
to  keep  them  running,  the  ledges  about  Austin  being  so  extremely  small  that 
although  in  some  cases  rich,  they  can  supply  only  a  very  inconsiderable  quan- 
tity of  ore,  while  in  Esmeralda,  where  the  ledges  are  large,  the  good  ores  found 
upon  the  surface  appear  to  have  run  out.  A  number  of  deep  prospecting  shafts 
have  lately  been  undertaken  there,  and  it  is  generally  believed  by  those  best 
acquainted  with  the  mines  that  bodies  of  remunerative  ores  will  yet  be  found 
at  greater  depths. 

Most  of  these  mills  run  day  and  night,  stopping  only  on  Sundays ;  at  which 
time  machinery  is  examined  and  such  temporary  repairs  as  may  be  needed  are 
made.  They  employ  from  five  to  fifty  hands  each,  the  usual  number  being  from 
ten  to  fifteen,  though  the  Gould  &;  Curry  mill  requires  over  a  hundred.  In  a 
majority  of  cases  the  mill-owners  also  own  mines  and  crush  their  own  rock, 
while  some  do  custom-work,  reducing  ores  for  others  at  so  much  per  ton,  or 
buy  and  crush  it  on  their  own  account.  A  few  crush  the  ores  dry,  though  nearly 
all  adopt  the  wet  method.  Jt  is  generally  'calculated  that  each  stamp  will  crush 
a  ton  of  ore  every  twenty-four  hours.  Some  do  less  and  others  do  more,  accord- 
ing to  the  weight  of  the  stamp  and  the  character  of  the  ore.  Besides  these 
mills  there  are  in  the  State  six  smelting  works,  the  most  of  them  on  a  small 
scale,  and  twenty- five  or  thirty  arastras — some  driven  by  water,  but  the  greater 
number  by  horse  or  mule  power.  There  are  also  in  the  State  about  fifty  steam 
pumping  and  hoisting  works,  many  of  them  structures  of  a  costly  and  massive 
kind.  There  are  also  in  the  State  a  number  of  large  foundries  and  machine- 
shops,  and  over  fifty  saw-mills,  mostly  propelled  by  water,  with  one  small  flour- 
mill  now  running,  and  another  being  erected. 

Roads,  ditches,  SfC.—A.  number  of  toll-roads,  several  of  them  extending  over 
the  sierra  and  others  quite  into  the  interior  of  the  State,  have  been  built  under 
the  charters  from  the  present  State  or  former  Territorial  legislature.  The  length 
of  these  roads,  some  of  which  have  been  very  expensive  and  formidable  works, 
is  not  less  in  the  aggregate  than  three  hundred  miles,  the  entire  cost  of  their 
construction  having  been  over  $500,000.  One  of  these,  .the  Kingsbury  road, 
crossing  the  sierra  near  Genoa,  has  cost,  with  alterations  and  improvements, 
$150,000  ;  the  amount  of  tolls  it  has  taken  in  being  more  than  double  that  sum. 
As  a  general  thing,  however,  these  roads  have  not  proved  lucrative,  the  amount 
of  tolls -received  barely  sufficing  to  keep  them  in  repair  and  pay  a  moderate  in- 
terest on  the  investment,  some  failing  to  even  do  this.  The  water  ditches  of 
this  State,  built  either  for  milling  or  irrigating  purposes,  and  generally  for  both, 
are  numerous,  but  not,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three,  of  great  magnitude. 
The  Humboldt  ditch,  nearly  one-half  built,  taking  water  from  that  river  and 
conveying  it  to  the  vicinity  of  the  principal  mines,  is  seven  feet  wide  on  top, 
five  on  the  bottom,  and  two  deep.  It  will  be  over  sixty  miles  long,  and  will 
cost  when  completed  nearly  $100,000.  Preparations  are  now  being  made  for 
constructing  a  large  aqueduct,  to  be  built  of  wood,  for  taking  the  entire  body  of 
water  running  in  the  west  branch  o£  Carson  river  from  its  canon  and  conveying 
it  to  Empire  City,  a  distance  of  nearly  thirty  miles!  The  work  as  projected 
will  cost  over  8200,000.  Other  ditches  and  flumes,  not  of  such  magnitude,  but 
still  quite  extensive,  are  to  be  found  at  Empire  City,  Dayton,  in  Washoe  and 
Truckee  valleys,  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  State,  the  number  of  small  ones 
along  the  eastern  slope  of  the  sierra  and  among  the  mountains  of  the  interior, 
built  mainly  for  irrigating  purposes,  being  quite  large ;  and  gradually,  as  popu- 
lation and  improvements  increase,  the  running  waters  of  the  State  will  be  di- 
verted from  their  natural  into  artificial  channels,  to  be  used  for  irrigation  and 
propulsive  power.  There  are  about  thirty  saw-mills  in  the  State,  all  but  one 
driven  by  water.  With  the  exception  of 'three  or  four  of  limited  capacity  in  the 
Reese  river  country,  they  are  all  situated  in  the  foot-hills  along  the  eastern  base 


122  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

of  the  sierra,  where  water-power  is  abundant,  and  where  alone  any  really  good 
timber  is  to  be  found.  The  price  of  lumber  at  these  mills  is  about  $20  per 
thousand,  the  cost  increasing  rapidly  with  the  distance  it  has  to  be  hauled. 

Number  of  companies  formed  for  mining  purposes  ;  districts  erected,  ledges 
located,  fyc. — The  number  of  mining  companies  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of 
prospecting  for  locating,  working,  or  dealing  in  mines  in  the  State  of  Nevada, 
amounts  to  over  one  thousand.  Many  of  these  never  proceeded  to  actual  opera-  » 
tions  beyond  the  act  of  organizing,  and  most  of  them  cannot  be  said  to  have  a 
present  existence.  Besides  these  incorporated  companies  three  times  as  many 
minor  associations,  though  often  consisting  of  the  same  parties,  were  organized 
under  the  laws  of  the  several  mining  districts  for  similar  purposes  ;  most  of 
these,  like  their  more  pretentious  neighbors,  having  since  been  disbanded  and 
ceased  as  companies  to  have  any  existence..  Of  the  number  of  districts  erected 
or  ledges  located  by  these  numerous  parties  during  the  three  or  four  years  that 
the  ruining  excitement  raged,  no  accurate  statement  can  be  made,  new  districts 
being  formed  and  after  a  short  time  disbanded,  to  be  again  followed  by  others 
covering  in  part  or  perhaps  the  whole  of  the  same  territory ;  and  ledges  being 
located  by  the  thousand,  to  be  in  like  manner  given  up,  being  forfeited  from  fail- 
ure to  do  the  requisite  amount  of  work  or  otherwise  comply  with  the  laws  of 
the  district.  In  size  these  districts  varied  greatly,  as  they  still  do,  being  from 
ten  to  a  hundred  miles  square,  and  having  as  a  general  rule  natural  objects, 
such  as  mountains,  valleys,  ravines,  &c.,  for  boundaries.  The  number  of  min- 
ing districts  in  the  State  regularly  organized  and  having  a  recognized  legal  ex- 
istence, with  records  and  officials,  may  be  set  down  at  about  one  hundred ;  the 
number  of  ledges  worked  sufficiently  to  hold  them  nnder  the  local  laws  of  the 
district  where  they  are  situated,  may  be  roughly  estimated  at  between  four  and 
five  thousand.  Upon  some  of  these  a  large  amount  of  work  has  been  done, 
though  upon  nine-tenths  of  them  but  very  little.  Of-  the  adult  population  of 
the  State  about  two-thirds  are  engaged  in  the  various  branches  of  mining. 
Wages  of  miners  vary  from  S3  50  to  $5  per  day,  or  from  $60  to  $100  per  month. 
The  prices  of  labor,  like  almost  everything  else,  are  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
per  cent,  higher  in  this  State  than  in  California. 

Taxes  and  legislation. — The  only  measures  adopted  by  the  general  govern- 
ment looking  to  a  realization  of  revenue  from  the  mines  on  this  coast  are  the 
laws  passed  by  Congress  in  the  years  1864  .and  1865.  The  first  of  these, 
which  took  effect  August  29, 1864,  provided  for  the  levying  of  a  tax  of  one-half 
of  one  per  cent,  on  all  bullion  assayed,  and  prohibiting,  under  severe  penalties, 
the  sale,  transfer,  exchange,  transportation,  exportation,  or  working  of  any 
bullion  not  having  first  been  assayed.  The  other  law  requires  every  miner 
whose  receipts  amount  to  over  one  thousand  dollars  per  year,  and  every  person, 
firm  or  company  employing  others  in  the  business  of  mining,  to  take  out  a 
license  for  which  they  shall  pay  the  sum  of  ten  dollars.  Neither  of  these 
measures  can  be  considered  impolitic,,  unjust  or  oppressive,  nor  are  they  the 
subject  of  complaint  by  the  great  mass  of  those  most  affected  by  them.  In 
addition  to  these  acts  the  legislature  of  ih&  State  of  Nevada  enacted  a  law  two 
years  since,  by  which  it  is  provided  that  from  the  gross  returns  or  assayed  value 
per  ton  of  all  ores,  quartz  or  minerals  in  that  State,  from  which  either  gold  or 
silver  is  extracted,  there  shall  first  be  deducted  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  per 
ton,  and  upon  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  remainder  a  tax  of  one  per  cent, 
ad  valorem  shall  be  levied  for  State  and  county  purposes,  provision  also  being 
made  for  collecting  a  like  tax  upon  any  of  this  class  of  ores  transported  from 
the  State.  The  revenue  derived  from  this  source  for  the  year  1865  amounted, 
in  Story  county,  where  the  principal  mines" are  situated,  to  $40,145,  to  which 
may  be  added  two  or  three  thousand  for  outside  districts.  The  State  also  taxes 
the  mills,  hoisting  works,  and  all  other  above-ground  fixtures  and  properties, 
real  and  personal,  but  not  the  mines  proper.  The  mineral  laud  law  passed  at 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  123 

the  last  session  of  Congress,  providing  for  the  sale  of  mines  upon  the  public 
domains,  though  exciting  gome  apprehension  among  miners  at  first,  and  perhaps 
somewhat  imperfect  in  its  details,  is  now  generally  approved,  and  will,  no  doubt, 
result  in  benefit  to  both  the  government  and  those  most  affected  by  its  opera- 
tions. By  enabling  the  present  claimants  to  secure  titles  to  their  mines,  it  will 
increase  the  confidence  of  capitalists  in  this  species  of  property,  and  thus  greatly 
enhance  its  value  and  tend  to  promote  its  more  rapid  development.  The  only 
title  heretofore  enjoyed  or  obtainable  by  these  claimants  has  been  one  of  pos- 
session, held  under  sufferance  from  the  general  government  and  by  virtue  of  the 
local  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  of  the  several  mining  districts,  and  which 
latter,  though  generally  wholesome  and  just  in  their  provisions,  were  always 
brief  and  insufficient,  considering  the  momentous  interests  constantly  growing 
up  under  them,  and  not  unfrequently  contradictory  and  obscure,  or  otherwise 
imperfect  and  objectionable.  The  laws  of  the  various  districts,  though  similar 
in  their  general  features,  often  differ  in  some  of  their  provisions.  They  are, 
however,  so  nearly  alike  in  all  essential  particulars  that  the  few  examples 
hereunto  appended  will  serve  sufficiently  to  illustrate  their  common  character. 

5.— GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  MINES  OF  NEVADA,  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY 
UTAH,  MONTANA,  AND  IDAHO. 

General  view  of  the  mines  of  Nevada. — In  considering  the  mines  and  the 
metalliferous  territory  of  Nevada  it  has  been  customary  to  divide  the  State  into 
several  sections  designated  as  follows,  viz :  the  Washoe,  the  Esmeralda,  the  Hum- 
boldt, and  the  Reese  River  districts,  each  of  which  covers  a  large  area  of  country 
and  contains  a  number  of  those  smaller  subdivisions  known  as  mining  districts. 

The  Washoe  legion. — This  embraces  all  the  central  and  western  portion  of 
the  State,  and  includes  the  counties  of  Douglas,  Ormsby,  Washoe,  Story,  and 
Lyon,  which,  united,  contain  only  a*s  much  territory  as  Roop,  scarcely  half  as 
much  as  either  Esmeralda  or  Churchill,  and  not  one-quarter  that  embraced  within 
the  limits  of  either  Humboldt,  Nye,  or  Lander  county.  Notwithstanding  its 
comparatively  diminutive  size,  Story  county  contains  more  than  one-third  of 
the  taxable  property  as  well  as  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  State.  The  only  mines 
of  any  considerable  and  well-established  value  in  the  Washoe  region,  those  upon 
the  Comstock  lode,  being  also  in  this  county,  and  from  which  is  extracted  more 
than  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  the  bullion  produced  in  the  State. 

Upon  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock  ledge  a  large  population  was  drawn  over 
the  mountains,  the  number  of  inhabitants  within  the  boundaries  of  the  present 
State  of  Nevada  being  somewhat  larger  in  1863  than  at  this  time.  Prospecting — 
that  is,  exploring  the  country  for  metalliferous  veins — was  at  once  commenced 
and  pushed  with  vigor;  a  good  proportion  of  the  Washoe,  Esmeralda,  and 
Humboldt  regions  having  been  subjected  to  a  pretty  thorough  inspection  during 
the  first  three  years  following  the  discovery  of  silver.  Within  this  time  thou- 
sands of  ledges  were  located  throughout  all  parts  of  this  extensive  Territory. 
Many  of  these  were  of  large  size,  well  defined,  and  frequently  prospected  well, 
sometimes  largely,  in  both  gold  and  silver  upon  the  surface.  Others  were  of 
less  magnitude,  lacked  the  features  of  true  veins,  and  were  quite  or  nearly  bar- 
ren of  the  precious  metals.  In  some  cases  free  gold  abounded  in  the  croppings, 
but  the  preponderating  metal,  so  far  as  any  existed,  was  silver,  the  most  of  these 
being  located  as  argentiferous  veins.  Upon  a  few  of  the  larger  and  more  prom- 
ising a  large  amount  of  work  was  performed,  while  upon  a  majority  but  little 
or  nothing  was  done  ;  the  sums  expended  upon  them,  however,  could  not  in  the 
aggregate  have  been  less  than  eight  or  ten  millions  of  dollars,  some  estimating 
it  much  higher.  All  this  large  sum  of  money  was  spent  in  the  mere  preliminary 
business  of  prospecting  and  exploring  a  class  of  mines  which,  with  but  few  ex- 
ceptions, have  thus  far  proved  unproductive,  and  may  be  set  down  as  possessing 


124  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

no  present  market  value,  many,  even  of  those  unon  which  large  sums  had  been 
expended,  being  now  abandoned.  The  total  amount  of  bullion  extracted  from 
all  the  mines  in  the  Washoe,  Esrneralda,  and  Humboldt  regions,  apart  from 
those  on  the  Comstock  lode,  will  not  this  year  amount  to  half  a  million  dollars, 
a  sum  considerably  less  than  what  was  realized  from  them  during  several  preceding 
years.  It  is  not  to  be"  inferred,  however,  that  all  thctc  mines  will  ultimately 
prove  worthless.  A  considerable  number  only  require  more  careful  management 
and  a  sufficiency  of  means  to  secure  for  them  deeper  and  a  more  thorough  explora- 
tion to  render  their  working  almost  certainly  remunerative  and  perhaps  largely 
profitable.  Excluding  eighty  per  cent,  of  all  the  ledges  located  as  belonging  to  a 
class  so  manifestly  worthless  that  no  work  should  ever  have  been  performed 
upon  them,  one- half  of  the  remainder  may  be  set  down  as  possessing  such  signs 
of  value  as  would  warrant  a  moderate  expenditure  to  prove  more  fully  their 
character,  while  the  balance  may  justly  be  considered  as  being  lodes  that  with 
judicious  management  and  the  application  of  a  moderate  sum  can  speedily  be 
developed  into  productive  and  paying  mines,  many  of  them  being  already  in 
an  advanced  stage  of  exploration,  a  few  having  steam  hoisting  works  attached 
to  them,  and  a  still  smaller  number  mills  also  for  reducing  their  ores.  The 
great  mistakes  made  in  these  earlier  efforts  at  silver  mining,  as  displayed  both 
in  the  regions  under  consideration  and  elsewhere,  consisted  in  locating  and 
attempting  to  open  so  many  worthless  ledges,  and  in  the  superficial  character 
of  the  work  performed  generally.  Through  this  means  vast  sums  were  uselessly 
thrown  away,  and  by  so  much  scattering  the  work  applied,  nothing  was  done 
effectually.  Had  this  labor  been  concentrated  upon  a  few  of  the  more  promising 
lodes,  many  of  these  would  no  doubt  now  have  been  yielding  large  quantities 
of  millable  ores,  whereby  the  annual  »yield  of  bullion  would  have  been  much 
increased,  and  the  useless  expenditure  of  millions  of  dollars  have  been  saved, 
besides  our  actual  knowledge  of  the  metalliferous  resources  of  the  country  been 
greatly  extended.  These  were  mistakes  honestly  made  through  ignorance,  and 
are  not  to  be  confounded  with  those  growing  out  of  the  spirit  of  cupidity  and 
speculation  that  at  one  time  prevailed,  and  of  which  sufficient  has  been  said 
elsewhere.  They  are,  moreover,  mistakes  that,  having  abundantly  evinced  their 
mischievous  effects,  are  now  being  generally  avoided.  One  cause  that  led  to 
the  expectation  that  this  superficial  style  of  working  should  suffice,  was  the  fact 
that  the  accumulations  of  rich  ores  that  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock 
vein  were  found  quite  upon  the  surface;  hence  it  was  thought  that  in  all  cases 
bodies  of  pay  ores  should  in  like  manner  be  met  with,  if  not  in  the  cropping?, 
certainly  at  no  great  depth  below  them,  a  supposition  contradicted  by  the  expe- 
rience of  silver  miners  nearly  all  the  world  over,  these  rich  masses  upon  the 
surface  being  of  rare  occurrence.  A  partial  excuse  can  also  be  found  for  this 
indiscriminate  practice  of  locating  ledges  in  the  additional  fact  that  many  of 
them  were  as  large  and  often  much  larger,  and  to  all  appearance  equally  as 
valuable  as  the  Comstock ;  the  difference,  generally  speaking,  only  being  made 
apparent  where,  after  reported  trials  of  the  ores  taken  from  different  and  often 
from  great  depths,  they  were  found  to  be  valueless.  In  many  of  these  ledges 
the  walls  were  as  regular,  the  mass  of  vein-stone  as  great,  and,  judging  by  the 
eye,  as  likely  to  be  metalliferous  as  that  of  the  Comstock ;  hence,  many  com- 
panies operating  in  the  contiguous  as  well  as  in  the  more  remote  districts, 
encouraged  by  the  resemblance  of  their  ledges  to  the  great  mother  vein,  perse- 
vered in  their  efforts  until  large  sums  were  expended,  yet  without  reaching  the 
hoped-for  deposits  of  rich  ores.  In  many  of  these  cases  operations,  after  being 
suspended  for  several  year?,  have  again  been  resumed  with  the  purpose  that 
they  shall  be  carried  on  to  a  point  determinate  of  the  probable  value  of  the 
lode  in  process  of  exploration.  At  present  several  of  these  deep  prospecting 
shafts  are  being  sunk  in  the  Washoe  section  of  country,  and,  as  it  is  reported, 
with  the  most  hopeful  prospects.  There  are,  moreover,  in  this  region  many 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  125 

ledges  on  which  work  has  been  steadily  kept  going  since  their  commencement 
four  years  ago,  the  method  of  opening  being  by  means  of  tunnels  which  have 
not  yet  reached  the  vein ;  some  of  these  are  to  be  several  thousand  feet  in 
length,  and  will  yet  require  a  year  or  two  for  their  completion ;  the  owners 
remaining,  meantime,  in  ignorance  of  the  precise  character  of  their  ledge.  In 
Alpine  county,  which,  though  in  the  State  of  California,  is  situate  entirely  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  sierra,  and  generally  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Washoe 
region,  there  are,  beyond  any  question,  many  argentiferous  lodes  of  great  magni- 
tude and  undoubted  value.  Upon  several  of  these  heavy  works  of  exploration 
have  been  in  progress  for  three  or  four  years,  and  which,  as  they  approach  com- 
pletion, begin  to  reveal  many  valuable  features  in  these  ledges.  Owing  to  the 
protracted  nature  of  these  works  but  little  bullion  has  yet  been  produced  in  this 
county,  though  it  is  likely  a  handsome  sum  will  be  turned  out  the  coming  year, 
as  a  number  of  mills  and  smelting  works  are  being  erected  in  that  section. 

Of  the  one  hundred  and  seventy  mills  in  the  State,  eighty-nine,  carrying 
1,440  of  the  2,564  stamps,  are  in  the  Washoe  district.  These  mills  have  a 
capacity  equal  to  3,841  horse-power,  and  cost,  in  the  aggregate,  over  five  and  a 
half  million  of  dollars,  all  the  other  mills  in  the  State  having  but  2,481  horse- 
power, and  costing  but  $5,500,000.  Here,  too,  are  most  of  the  water-mills, 
thirty  in  number,  that  are  running  in  Nevada.  Of  these  eighty-nine  mills, 
thirty-six,  carrying  625  stamps,  1,500  horse-power,  and  costing  $3,000,000,  are 
in  Story  county.  Two  of  them  are  driven  by  water ;  the  balance  by  steam. 
There  are  also  in  this  county  ten  arrastras  driven  by  water,  and  one  smelting 
establishment.  In  Lyon  county  there  are  thirty-four  mills,  having  489  stamps, 
1,286  horse- power,  and  costing  $1,705,000.  Eleven  of  these  mills  are  propelled 
by  water.  There  are  five  arrastras  in  this  county,  and  one  metallurgical  works. 
Washoe  county  contains  ten  mills,  200  stamps,  610  horse-power,  costing 
$520,000 ;  seven  of  them  are  driven  by  water,  and  several  by  water  and  steam 
combined.  Ormsby  county  contains  eight  mills,  123  stamps,  435  horse-power, 
costing  $375,000.  Nine  of  these  mills  are  driven  by  water,  and  three  partly  by 
water  and  partly  by  steam.  Douglas  county  has  but  one  mill,  five  stamps,  ten 
horse-power ;  cost  $5,000 ;  driven  by  water. 

The  Esmeralda  region  is  generally  considered  as  coextensive  with  Esmeralda 
county,  and  as  also  covering  a  contiguous  strip  of  mineral  territory  on  the  Cali- 
fornia side  of  the  line.  It  is,  for  the  most  part,  an  elevated,  dry,  and  barren 
country,  containing  but,  little  agricultural  or  grass  land,  and  no  timber  except 
the  scattered  patches  of  pinon,  heretofore  described,  much  of  it  being  destitute 
of  even  this.  It  embraces  within  its  limits  over  twenty  mining  districts,  some 
of  which  contain  mines  of  much  importance.  Esmeralda  district,  the  earliest 
settled  portion  of  this  region,  contains  two-thirds  of  all  the  population,  they 
being  residents  of  Aurora,  the  principal  town  in  the  county.  Upon  the  mines 
in  this  district  also  has  most  of  the  heavy  work  been  done,  and  here  are  located 
three-fourths  of  all  the  mills  that  have  been  erected  in  thai  section  of  country. 
Several  of  these,  being  very  extensive  and  complete  in  their  appointments,  cost 
large  sums  of  money ;  but,  as  yet,  none  of  them  have  accomplished  much  in  the 
way  of  turning  out  bullion,  partly  because  some  have  been  grossly  mismanaged, 
or  their  operations  suspended  by  protracted  and  costly  litigation,  but  chiefly 
because  the  ledges  first  opened,  and  which  were  generally  considered  the  best 
in  the  district,  prospecting  largely  upon  the  top  in  silver,  and  often  also  in  free 
gold,  grew  barren,  or  pinched  out  as  descended  upon,  or  suffered  such  interrup- 
tion and  displacement  as  to  render  it  impossible  longer  to  identify  or  follow 
them.  Hence,  for  the  past  two  or  three  years  most  of  the  mills  about  Aurora 
have  been  idle,  and  chiefly  because  they  could  not  get  a  sufficiency  of  pay  ore 
from  the  mines  in  the  vicinity  to  keep  them  running.  It  is  the  opinion  of  geol- 
ogists that  most  of  these  disturbances  are  confined  to  the  first  few  hundred  feet 
beneath  the  surface,  and  that  below  that  point  these  ledges,  which  promised  so 


126  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

well,  and  some  of  which  really  were  so  rich  above,  will  again  be  found  regular, 
compact,  and,  most  likely,  highly  metalliferous.     At  all  events,  confiding  in  this 
theory,  several  companies  have  resolved  to  test  this  question  by  sinking  deep 
prospecting  shafts  on  a  number  of  the  largest  and  most  promising  lodes  at  this 
place,  powerful  hoisting  and  pumping  works  having  been  provided  for  this 
purpose,  and  some  of  ihe  shafts  having  been  sunk  several  hundred  feet  lower 
than  any  level  before  attained.     This  work  is  to  be  prosecuted  till  some  definite 
results  are  arrived  at,  and  it  is  now  believed  by  those  most  conversant  with  the 
subject  that  in  the  course  of  the  next  year  quite  a  number  of  the  mills  about 
Aurora  will  be  able  to  run  on  ore  obtained  from  these  deep  workings,  and  that 
the  whole  of  them  will  be  able  to  do  so,  running  full  time,  in  the  course  of  a 
couple  of    years  more  at  the  farthest.      With    the   general    disappointment 
in    the    character  of    the    mines    at    large,    the    .suspension   of    work   upon 
those  esteemed  as  of  the  better  class,  and  the  stoppage  of  the  mills  erected 
at    so   much   cost,    business   of    all    kinds   has   greatly    declined,    population 
has  fallen  off   nearly  one-half,  and  real  estate  has   so  declined   that  it  will 
'  not  sell  for  one-quarter  the  prices  readily  commanded,   three  or  four  years 
ago,  the  depreciation  of  mill  and  mining  properties  being  more  marked  than  any 
other.     Mills  that  cost  a  quarter  million  of  dollars  would  not  now  sell  for  a 
third  of  that  sum,  while  mines  that  were  selling  currently,  under  the  stimulus  of 
popular  excitement  and  the  artful  machinations  of  speculators,  at  three  and  four 
hundred  dollars  per  foot  would  not  now  sell  for  one  dollar,  the  most  of  them 
being  considered  of  so  little  value  that  their  prices  are  no  longer  quoted  on  the 
lists  of  mining  stocks   dealt  in  by  the  brokers.     Some  mines  in  this  region, 
however,  of  more  recent  location,  and  situate  mostly  in  the  outside  districts, 
exhibit,  as  before  stated,  many  satisfactory  evidences  of  permanency  and  wealth, 
the  most  rioted  of  these  being  in  Silver  Peak  and  Red  Mountain  districts,  on  the 
eastern  margin  of  Esmeralda  county.    The  Silver  Peak  mine  in  the  former  con- 
tains a  large  body  of  argentiferous  ores  lying  very  near  the  surface.    A  ten-stamp 
mill  running  upon  this  extracted,  during  the  few  mouths  it  was  in  operation,  a 
large  amount  of  bullion,  the  entire  mass  of  the  ore  yielding  by  the  most  simple 
process  over  one  hundred  dollars  per  ton.     This  mine  having  been  sold  to  an 
eastern  company,  nothing  has  been  done  upon  it  for  the  past  six  or  eight  months, 
the  ten-stamp  mill  having  been  removed  to  Red  mountain,  a  few  miles  west,  where 
it  is  to  be  run  in  conjunction  with  a  small  three-stamp  mill  put  up  there  two 
years  ago,  and  which  has  also  been  running  with  success ;  the  ore  at  that  place 
abounding  in  free  gold  to  such  an  extent  that  it  merely  requires  crushing  and 
running  over  blankets.     It  is  the  intention  of  the  Silver  Peak  company  to  put 
up  a  large  first-class  mill  the  coining  year  upon  their  mine.     In  the, Columbus 
district,  lying  between  Silver  Peak  and  Esmeralda,  there  are  a  number  of  un- 
mistakably rich  ledges,  but  they  have  not  yet  been  much  developed,  and  it 
would  be  too  soon   to  pronounce  an  opinion  upon  their  probable  permanency 
No  mills  have  yet  been  built  at  this  place,  though  one  is  talked  of  as  likely  to 
be  taken  in  next  summer.     The  number  that  could  be  kept  running  would,  in 
any  event,  be  limited,  the  district  being  but  scantily  supplied  with  wood  and 
water.     In  the  Volcano  district,  near  Columbus,  a  great  variety  of  rnetals  and 
minerals  have  been  found,  there  being  here,  besides  veins  seemingly  rich  in 
gold  and  silver,  immense  reefs  of  magnetic  iron  ore,  numerous  cupriferous  lodes, 
large  and  highly  impregnated  with  copper ;    also  saline  pools  surrounded  *with 
heavy   deposits   of  salt,   and,  according  to  Dr.  Blatchley,  generally  esteemed 
good  authority,  veins   of  true  coal  of  the  bituminous   variety,  two  of  these, 
varying  from  three  to  four  feet  in  width,  having  lately  been  found  by  him  while 
on  a  tour  of  extended  research  throughout  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State. 
In  the  Montgomery,  Hot  Springs,  and  Bodie  districts,  lying  mostly  in  California, 
there  are  also  many  ledges  of  favorable  aspect,  some  of  them  of  well-ascertained 
value,  there  being  in  the  last-named  district  two  large  mills,  one  of  which  is 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  127 

running  successfully,  and  the  other  nearly  ready  for  operations.  In  Lake  • 
district,  also  in  this  county,  and  situate  on  the  west  side  of  Walker  lake,  a  large 
number  of  gold-bearing  ledges  were  discovered  in  the  summer  of  1865,  and 
though  prospecting  extremely  rich  in  this  metal  on  the  surfaces,  they  have  not 
yet  been  opened  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  fully  establish  their  value  as  permanent 
mines.  Two  small  mills  are  in  course  of  erection  in  this  district,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  but  they  can  obtain  enough  ore  to  give  them  profitable  employment 
for  some  time  at  least. 

In  view  of  the  many  promising  mines  scattered  over  all  parts  of  the  Esmeralda 
region — the  long  and  varied  experience  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  in  every  de- 
partment of.  mining  enabling  them  to  avoid  the  mistakes  of  the  past  and  to  con- 
duct the  business  hereafter  with  greater  efficiency  and  economy — it  is  but  reason- 
able to  predict  that  this  interest  will  soon  undergo  a  revival,  and  the  country 
meet,  in  part  at  least,  the  expectations  entertained  of  it  at  an  early  day. 

The  mills  built  in  Esmeralda  county,  twenty-one  in  number,  carry  in  the  ag- 
gregate 241  stamps,  have  a  propulsive  capacity  equal  to  672  horse-power,  and 
cost  $1,150,000.  Only  two  of  them  are  driven  by  water.  There  are  also  ten 
arrastras  and  two  small  smelting  works  in  this  region.  These  mills  are  distributed 
over  the  country  as  follows  :  One  of  ten  stamps  and  one  of  three  at  Red  moun- 
tain, three  of  small  capacity  in  Hot  Spring,  Blind  Spring,  and  other  districts 
south  of  Aurora,  two  in  Bodie  district,  and  the  balance  on  Walker  river  and  in 
the  Esmeralda  district  proper. 

The  Humboldt  region. — This  section  occupies  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
State,  covering  the  counties  of  Humboldt  and  Roop,  and,  for  the  sake  of  con- 
venience rather  than  from  its  geographical  position,  also  that  of  Churchill,  lying 
south  of  the  former.  The  appearance  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  mines,  is  very  similar  to  those  of  Esmeralda;  nor  does  the  history 
of  operations  here  differ  materially  from  that  of  the  latter.  The  same  difficulties 
were  encountered  and  the  same  mistakes  made  here  as  there.  Owing  to  the 
careless  manner  in  which  many  of  the  claims  were  located,  the  obscurity  and 
imperfection  of  the  laws,  and  the  still  more  imperfect  manner  in  which  they  were 
enforced,  a  majority  of  all  the  titles,  more  particularly  those  to  what  were  con- 
sidered the  better  class  of  mines,  became  involved  in  litigation,  thereby  retard- 
ing their  development  and  destroying  confidence  in  them  generally.  Millions  of 
feet  of  unprospected  ledges  were  sold,  sometimes  fairly,  but  oftener  through  mis- 
representation and  chicanery,  and  the  proceeds,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to 
vast  sums,  were  spent  usually  in  every  manner  of  extravagance  and  folly,  and 
rarely  in  any  persistent  and  well-directed  efforts  at  opening  the  mines.  Towns 
were  built,. hotels  and  saloons  of  luxurious  style  were  erected,  real  estate  in 
these  embryo  cities  went  up  to  enormous  prices,  everybody  seeking  to  get  rich 
from  speculating  in  city  lots  or  "feet,"  as  these  mining  properties  were  desig- 
nated, but  little  being  done  meantime  towards  advancing  the  business  that 
should  have  first  been  looked  after,  the  opening  up  and  proving  of  the  mines. 
Mills  were  also  procured  and  put  up  at  heavy  expense  before  it  had  been  ascer- 
tained that  enough  ores  could  be  had  to  keep  them  running,  this  latter  mistake 
not  having  been  committed  to  the  same  extent  in  Humboldt  as  in  the  Esmeralda 
and  some  parts  of  the  Reese  River  regions,  where  more  than  two- thirds  of  the 
mills  have  remained  constantly  idle  from  the  causes  set  forth.  It  is  also  true 
that  an  equal  proportion  of  the  entire  number  of  mills  put  up  in  Humboldt  have 
been  doing  nothing  much  of  the  time  ;  the  principal  advantage  here  being  that 
only  a  small  number  of  mills,  and  these  mostly  of  an  inexpensive  kind,  were 
erected. 

In  th«  Black  Rock  country,  lying  in  the  western  part  of  Humboldt  county, 
many  ledges  claimed  by  the  finders  to  be  good  were  discovered  during  the  past 
year.  These  veins  are  large,  and  some  fair  tests  have  been  obtained  from  them 
by  mill  process,  yet  they  are  not  enough  opened  to  afford  any  decisive  clue  as 


128  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

to  their  ultimate  value.  A  small  mill  lias  been  forwarded  to  the  district,  and  a 
more  thorough  trial  of  the  ores  will  no  doubt  soon  be  had.  These  mines  lie  in 
the  midst  of  a  hideous  desert,  and  unless  excessively  rich  can  possess  no  present 
^value,  the  country  for  more  than  fifty  miles  in  every  direction  being  almost 
wholly  devoid  of  wood,  water,  and  grass. 

In  the  Pueblo  mountains,  sixty  miles  northeast  of  Black  Rock,  a  district  was 
organized,  and  many  ledges  located  five  years  ago.  A  small  water  mill  erected 
there,  and  afterwards  burnt  by  the  Indians,  has  not  since  been  rebuilt,  nor  have 
the  mines  showing  fine  surface  indications  been  at  all  opened ;  wherefore, 
little  or  nothing  is  kpown  as  to  their  real  character.  The  ores  are  an  argentif- 
erous galena,  abounding  in  both  silver  aud  lead,  and  may  possibly  require  re- 
duction by  smelting.  If  so,  this  mode  could  be  adopted  with  a  fair  prospect  of 
success,  as  wood  and  water  are  tolerably  plentiful  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
mines,  there  being  also  much  good  hay  and  farming  land  in  the  extensive  valley 
adjacent.  • 

In  Humboldt  county  proper  mining  operations,  as  well  as  population,  have 
diminished  considerably  during  the  past  two  years,  nor  will  the  shipments  of 
bullion  this  year  equal  those  of  either  of  the  three  years  immediately  preced- 
ing. The  work  now  being  done,  however,  is  more  thorough,  being  confined  to 
a  smaller  number  of  ledges  than  before,  and  will  no  doubt  prove  more  satisfac- 
tory in  its  results. 

In  Churchill  county  there  are  three  districts  that  have  attracted  some  notice, 
because  of  the  supposed  valuable  ledges  they  contained.  These  are  severally 
named  the  Silver  Hill,  the  Mountain  Well,  and  the  Clan  Alpine,  and  to  them 
most  of  the  work  performed  in  the  county  lias  been  confined.  There  are  in  thi^ 
county  four  quartz  mills,  carrying  55  stamps,  and  having  a  driving  power  equal 
to  that  of  165  horses.  The  total  cost  of  these  mills  was  $395,000.  Three  of 
them  are  in  Mountain  Well,  and  one  not  quite  finished  in  Clan  Alpine  district. 
They  have  produced  but  a  few  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  bullion  all  told,  none 
of  them  having  been  able  to  run  for  more  than  a  few  days  ^t  a  time,  from  an 
insufficient  supply  of  pay-ore,  but  few  of  the  ledges  here  having  been  opened 
to  even  the  superficial  depths  common  to  most  other  districts.  In  the  higher 
strata  of  some  of  them  small  aggregations  of  very  rich  ores  have  been  found, 
and  the  chances  favor  the  supposition  that  when  properly  developed  they  will 
afford  enough  ore  to  keep  the  present  and  perhaps  additional  mills  running. 
Very  few  additional  mills,  however,  can  ever  be  operated  in  the  western  half  of 
the  county,  owing  to  the  limited  supply  of  wood  and  water. 

The  Reese  River  region,  embracing  within  its  boundaries  the  extensive  coun- 
ties of  Lander  and  Nye,  covers  more  than  one-half  of  the  entire  State  of  Ne- 
vada. The  geology  of  this  region  differs  somewhat  from  that  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State,  limestone  of  the  silurian  epoch  abounding  here,  and  other 
sedimentary  rocks  being  more  common.  Carboniferous  signs  are  also  more  fre- 
quent. The  ledges  throughout  this  region  are  mostly  encased  in  granite  or 
granitic  rock,  such  as  gneiss,  sienite,  &c.,  in  limestone,  and  the  several  varieties 
of  slate,  a  few  only  being  found  in  rocks  of  .volcanic  origin.  Most  of  the  large 
and  well-defined  veins  lie  in  silurian  limestone,  a  formation  highly  favorable  to 
the  existence  of  deep-fissured  and  permanant  mines.  The  lodes  about  Austin, 
Lander  county,  occur  whofly  in  granite,  both  walls  as  well  as  the  country  rock 
being  of  this  character.  They  are  for  the  most  part  very  narrow,  varying  from 
six  to  eighteen  inches  in  width  on  top,  and  expanding  to  two  or  three  feet  at  the 
depth  of  300  feet',  the  greatest  vertical  depth  to  which  any  have  yet  been  opened. 
Besides  being  narrow,  these  ledges  are  apt  to  suffer  much  from  faults,  and  occa- 
sionally contract  to  a  mere  seam  of  quartz,  or  disappear  altogether.  Where 
these  faults  have  occurred  the  experienced  miner  is  generally  able  to  place  them 
again  sometimes  without  much  labor.  Most  of  these  veins  run  in  a  northerly 
and  southerly  direction,  and  stand  at  an  angle  varying  from  45  to  60  degrees, 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  129 

very  few  of  them  having  a  more  vertical  position.  Owing  to  the  firmness  of 
their  walls  very  little  timbering  is  required,  though  their  extreme  narrowness 
compels  the  performance  of  much  dead-work  in  the  course  of  their  development. 
There  are  36  steam  hoisting  works  employed  on  the  mines  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Austin.  They  are  ,mostly  of  small  capacity,  from  20  to  25  horse  power,  but 
owing  to  the  small  amount  of  ore  as  well  as  water  required  to  be  raised  they 
will  meet  all  the  demands  for  hoisting  until  the  mines  reach  a  depth  of  four  or 
five  hundred  feet.  The  ores  in  this  vicinity  are  the  sulphurets  and  the  red  anti- 
mouial  sulphurets  of  silver,  though  in  the  top  rock,  and  in  some -instances  for  a 
consiierable  distance  beneath  the  surface,  these  have  been  changed  by  decompo- 
sition into  chlorides,  bromides,  and  iodides  of  silver.  These  ores,  being  impreg- 
nated with  antimony  and  arsenic,  all  require  roasting.  Though  small  in  quantity, 
not  more  than  35  or  40  tons  being  raised  daily  from  all  the  mines  in  the  Reese 
River  district  proper,  these  ores  are  extremely  rich,  yielding  by  mill  process  from 
one  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  ton,  the  average  yield  being  nearly  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  while  selected  lots  often  go  as  high  as  four  or  five  hundred 
dollars.,  There  are  in  the  several  districts  immediately  around  Austin  seventeen 
steam  mills,  carrying  nearly  two  hundred  stamps,  and  capable  of  crushing  and 
amalgamating  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  ore  daily.  Owing,  however,  to  an 
inadequate  supply  of  ore  not  one-quarter  of  these  mills  have  been  kept  running 
during  the  past  year,  nor  is  even  so  large  a  proportion  now  in  operation.  With 
a  more  thorough  exploration  of  the  veins,  however,  upon  which  they  are  depend- 
ent for  their  supplies  of  ore,  it  is  thought  an  additional  number  will  soon  be 
running,  and  that  all  will  be  able  to  do  so  in  the  course  of  a. year  or  a  year  and 
a  half  at  the  furthest.  The  cost  of  reducing  ores  about  Austin  is  now  $45  per 
ton;  the  expense  of  raising  them  is  about  $15  per  ton. 

In  several  of  the  outside  districts  mines  of  not  only  undoubted,  but  very  great 
value,  some  of  them  to  all  appearance  not  inferior  to  the  Comstock  ledge,  have 
been  discovered  within  the  past  two  years.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  is 
the  ledge  known  as  the  High  Bridge,  in  the  Philadelphia  district,  seventy-five 
miles  south-southeast  of  Austin,  the  entire  mass  of  vein-stone  in  which,  varying 
from  five  to  fifteen  feet  in  thickness,  pays  under  the  stamps  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  per  ton.  A  small  five  stamp  mill  erected  at  the  place  and  run- 
ning on  this  ore  turns  out  over  a  thousand  dollars  worth  of  bullion  per  day,  the 
ore  taken  indiscriminately  and  worked  in  a  very  imperfect  manner  yielding  over 
two  hundred  dollars  per  ton.  This  is  beyond  dispute  an  immensely  valuable 
deposit  of  silver,  and  it  is  the  intention  of  the  companies  claiming  it  to  erect 
one  or  more  large  mills  for  reducing  the  ore  the  coming  summer.  In  the  North- 
umberland, Hot  Creek,  Danville,  Reveille,  and  Pahranagat  districts,  all  situated 
to  the  east  and  southeast  of  the  Philadelphia  district,  many  ledges  of  great  promise 
have  been  discovered  within  the  past  year,  some  of  them  to  all  appearance  quite 
as  good  as  the  High  Bridge,  showing  beyond  peradventure  that  a  great  silver 
producing  region  exists  in  this  part  of  the  State.  Several  small  mills  have  been 
taken  into  this  section,  and  many  more  of  large  capacity  will  soon  follow,  and 
it  will  be  cause  for  surprise  if  the  annual  bullion  product  of  the  Reese  River  re- 
gion, now  about  $1,000,000,  is  not  more  than  doubled  within  the  next  two  years  • 
These  districts,  as  also  the  Murphy  ledge,  fifty  miles  south  of  Austin,  a  decidedly 
valuable  mine,  are  all  in  Nye  county,  which  contains  a  number  of  districts  abound- 
ing in  argentiferous  lodes  of  great  magnitude  and  prospective  value. 

The  Reese  River  region  contains  thirty-two  mines,  of  which  twenty-two  are 
in  Lander  and  ten  in  Nye  counties.  These  carry  three  hundred  and  ten  stamps, 
have  a  capacity  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  horse  power,  and  cost  $1,500,000, 
the  expense  of  erecting  mills  here  being  much  greater  (owing  to  cost  of  freight 
and  lumber)  than  in  the  western  part  of  the  State. 

Oregon. — The  yield  of  the  mines  in  this  State  the  present  year  will  not  ex- 
ceed $2,000,000,  nearly  the  whole  being  the  product  of  placer  diggings,  and 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 9 


130  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

mostly  taken  from  the  mines  on  John  Day  river  and  its  tributaries.  Several 
auriferous  veins  have  been  worked  with  arrastras  for  a  number  of  years  past  at 
Althouse  and  State  creek,  in  southern  Oregon,  paying,  for  the  means  invested, 
very  largely ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  these  mines,  with  ample  facilities  for 
reducing  the  ores,  would  turn  out  considerable  amounts  of  bullion  annually. 
.  Some  attempts  were  made  during  the  present  year  to  work  the  quartz  lodes,  of 
which  there  are  quite  a  good  many  in  the  Santian  district,  situated  in  the  Cas- 
cade mountains,  but  the  results  obtained  have  not  thus  far  been  encouraging. 

Washington  Territory. — As  in  the  State  of  Oregon  so  in  this  Territory,  the 
only  class  of  mines  that  have  yet  proved  productive  are  the  placer  diggings,  of 
which  there  is  here  a  considerable  extent;  the  best  paying  mines  heretofore  dis- 
covered being  those  about  Fort  Colville  and  in  the  Pend  d'Oreille  country,  the 
Kootenai  mines  and  those  near  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Columbia,  generally  spoken 
of  as  being  in  Washington  Territory,  being  in  fact  in  British  Columbia.  The 
product  for  the  present  year  from  this  quarter  may  be  set  down  at  about 
$1,000,000,  though  this  must  be  understood  as  embracing  the  yield  of  the  last- 
mentioned  districts,  that  of  Washington  alone  not  reaching  one  quarter  this 
amount. 

Utah. — This  Territory  is  known  to  abound  in  many  of  the  useful  and,  it  is 
believed,  also  in  the- precious  metals.  Coal  of  fair  quality  and  in  considerable 
quantities  has  been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  Territory,  and  both  lead  and 
iron  have  been  produced  for  many  years  past  by  the  Mormons  living  in  the 
southern  counties.  That  so  little  is  known  of  its  wealth  in  the  precious  metals 
is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  leaders  of  this  people  discouraged  the  searching 
after  them,  it  being  contrary  to  the  policy  of  the  church  to  have  its  subjects 
•  engage  in  mining  pursuits,  wherefore  but  little  was  known  of  the  mineral  re- 
sources of  Utah  until  the  soldiers  stationed  at  Salt  Lake  brought  them  to  light. 
No  placer  mines  of  any  extent  have  yet  been  found  in  this  Territory,  but  a 
number  of  large  lodes  heavily  charged  with  argentiferous  galena  have  been 
opened  at  Rush  valley,  a  short  distance  southwest  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and,  being 
tested  by  the  smelting  process,  proved  rich  in  both  lead  and  silver.  A  number 
of  furnaces  were  erected  here  two  years  ago,  since  which  they  have  been  kept 
part  of  the  time  in  operation,  and  with  suitable  appliances  it  is  thought  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  silver  bullion  might  be  produced  from  these  mines.  With 
the  influx  of  gentile  population  Utah  is  destined  to  be  thoroughly  explored,  and 
whatever  mineral  riches  it  may  contain  to  be  brought  to  light ;  and  we  may 
reasonably  look  for  some  important  discoveries  to  follow  in  that  section  before 
long.  At  Egan  canon  several  rich  silver-bearing  lodes  were  located  over  two 
years  ago.  Three  mills  have  since  been  put  up  at  this  point,  two  of  which  have 
produced  quite  a  large  amount  of  bullion. 

The  principal  silver-bearmg  lode  at  this  point,  known  as  the  Gilligan  Ledge, 
has  been  tested  to  the  depth  of  three  hundred  feet,  and  is  considered  to  contain 
one  of  the  richest  veins  in  the  State  of  Nevada.  It  has  a  width  of  eight  feef, 
and  has  produced  by  ordinary  process  of  mill- working  at  the  rate  of  $345  per 
ton  for  fifty  tons..  The  average  of  ores  rates  at  something  over  $100  per  ton. 
'  This  valuable  mine  'belonged,  until  recently,  to  a  San  Francisco  company, 
consisting  of  seven  private  individuals,  who  worked  it  on  their  own  account, 
under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  John  O'Dougherty,  who,  by  a  careful  sys- 
tem of  operations,  not  only  developed  the  mine,  but  built  a  five-stamp  mill  with- 
out expense  to  the  company.  It  is  one  of  the  few  mines  in  the  county  which 
has  paid  its  own  expenses  from  the  first  crushing  of  the  ores. 

During  the  past  summer  the  mill  has  been  idle,  owing  to  the  departure  of  ths 
superintendent,  who  went  east  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  capital  sufficient  to 
erect  a  mill  of  the  first  class,  with  capacity  to  work  all  the  ores  that  can  be  ob- 
tained from  the  ledge. 

The  Steptoe  Company,  of  New  York,  have  also  large  interests  here,  and  own 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  131 

a  number  of  ledges,  which,  however,  have  not  yet  been  developed  sufficiently 
to  furnish  an  absolute  test  of  their  value. 

A  consolidation  has  been  formed  between  the  Social  or  Gilligan  company  and 
the  Steptoe,  which  will  probably  result  in  mutual  benefits.  The  Steptoe  com- 
pany have  capital,  and  have  already  made  provision  for  the  erection  of  a  large 
mill ;  the  Social  company  have  a  developed  ledge  already  tested,  and  unques- 
tionably productive. 

The  consolidation  owns,  in  addition,  some  fine  copper  mines  on  the  line  of  the 
proposed  trans- continental  railway..  No  work  of  any  importance  has  yet  been 
done  upon  them. 

Egan  canon  is  situated  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  already  forms  the  nucleus  of  quite  a  thriving  little  mining  town.  The  over- 
land stage  and  telegraph  lines  pass  through  this  canon  on  the  route  to  Salt 
Lake.  Preparations  are  being  made  for  the  vigorous  working  of  all  the  valuable 
mines  in  this  district,  and  it  is  believed  they  will  yield  profitable  results  during 
the  coming  summer. 

Montana  — The  productive  mines  in  this  Territory  have  thus  far  mostly  con- 
sisted of  placer  diggings,  the  principal  of  which,  being  situated  east  of  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Rocky  mountains,  arts,  without  the  province  of  these  reports.  The 
( amount  of  gold  dust  taken  out  the  present  year  has  been  large,  but  in  the 
absence  of  any  authentic  data  no  accurate  computation  can  be  made  thereof. 
According  to  the  public  press  of  that  region  it  will  reach  the  sum  of  815,000,000, 
though  this  is  probably  a  rather  high  estimate.  During  the  past  summer  a 
large  number  of  quartz  lodes  have  been  taken  up  and  op'ened,  some  ten  or  fifteen 
mills,  varying  in  capacity  from  five  to  twenty  stamps,  having  meantime  been 
brought  in  and  some  of  them  gotten  in  operation.  The  quartz  is  easily  worked, 
and  yields  largely,  the  product  being  chiefly  gold.  All  the  goods  and  machinery 
destined  for  the  eastern  part  of  Montana  are  freighted  up  the  Missouri  or  across 
the  plains.  Most  of  the  gold  dust  and  bullion  produced  in  this  Territory  is  sent 
east,  very  little  of  it  reaching  California.  Those  best  acquainted  with  the 
country  have  a  high  opinion  of  its  mineral  resources,  and  believe  it  will  in  a  few 
years  rival  Idaho  and  Nevada,  if  it  do  not  surpass  them,  in  its  product  of  the 
precious  metals. 

Idaho. — The  product  of  the  placer  mines  in  this  territory  has  been  gradually 
diminishing  for  the  past  two  years,  though  this  foiling  off,  if  it  have  not  already 
been,  will  soon  be  more  than  made  up  by  the  yield  of  the  quartz  mines,  which 
are  beginning  to  be  worked  quite  extensively.  The  product  from  both  sources 
the  present  year  will  probably  not  fall  short  of  $10,000,000,  some  estimating  it 
much  higher.  It  should  be  observed  that  there  are  no  means  of  arriving  at 
accurate  estimates  t>f  the  precious  metals  taken  out  in  this  Territory,  many  of 
the  millmen  not  caring  to  make  known  the  results  of  their  operations,  and  large 
quantities  of  dust  being  brought  out  of  the  country  in  private  hands.  Of  the 
total  sum  produced,  from  one-fourth  to  one-fifth  is  taken  from  the  placers,  of 
which  some  virgin  diggings  of  considerable  extent  and  value  have  been  found 
the  past  summer;  and  as  ditches  have  been  constructed  for  bringing  water  into 
the  mines  on  quite  an  extensive  scale,  and  hydraulic  washing  is  being  intro- 
duced wherever  practicable,  the  probability  is  that  the  present  quota  from  this 
source  will  be  kept  up  for  some  time  to  come.  There  are  now  twenty -four 
quartz  mills  completed  and  running  in  this  Territory,  with  eight  others  in  course 
of  erection.  They  carry  a  total  of  nearly  four  hundred  stamps,  cost  in  the 
aggregate  $1,000.000,  and. have  a  unite.d  capacity  equal  to  five  hundred  horses. 
Besides  these  mills,  about  one-fourth  of  which  are  driven  by  water,  there  are  a 
large  number  of  arrastras  running  in  the  Territory,  the  most  of  which  are  also 
propelled  by  water.  Of  the  quartz  mills  eight  are  supplied  with  one  hundred 
and"  thirty-four  stamps,  are  situate  in  Atturas  county,  ten  in  the  Owyhee  dis- 
'trict,  and  the  balance  in  the  counties  adjacent;  the  whole  being  in  the  southern 


132  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

section  of  the  Territory.  The  Poorman  ledge,  so-called,  situate  in  the  Owyhee 
district,  is,  perhaps,  for  its  size  the  richest  deposit  of  silver  ores  ever  discovered, 
immense* masses  of  pure  sulphurets,  and  even  pieces  of  virgin  silver  weighing 
many  pounds,  having  been  extracted  from  it.  Unfortunately,  it  is  now  closed 
up  by  litigation,  and  has  not  for  several  months  produced  any  bullion.  There 
are  also  several  other  rich  silver-bearing  claims  in  this  vicinity,  though  the  mines 
of  Idaho  consist  mainly  of  auriferous  quartz,  of  which  there  are  great  quantities 
that  will  yield  by  the  most  cheap  and  expeditious  modes  of  working  from  $20 
to  $30  to  the  ton.  Considering  the  abundance  of  these  ores,  the  facility  with 
^rhich  they  can  be  treated,  and  the  ample  supplies  of  wood  and  water  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  principal  mines,  it  may  be  fairly  concluded  that  the  bullion  product  of 
Idaho  will  in  a  few  years  be  more  than  doubled,  and  that  the  yield  of  her  mines 
will  hereafter  be  steady  and  rapid. 


A  REPORT  OF  DR.  BLATCHLY,  MINING  ENGINEER,  TO  J.  ROSS  BROWNE, 
SPECIAL  COMMISSIONER  FOR  THE  COLLECTION  OF  MINING  STATIS- 
TICS. 

SOUTHEASTERN    NEVADA. 

This  portion  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  Indians, 
was  almost  totally  unexplored  until  last  spring.  About  that  time,  observing  that 
the  Indians  in  the  vicinty  of  the  mining  towns  were  able  to  feed  and  clothe 
themselves  much  better  than  those  who  lived  out  in  the  mountains,  they  changed 
their  tactics,  and  instead  of  opposing  exploration,  offered  every  facility  in  their 
power  to  promote  it,  and  nearly  all  of  the  mineral  discoveries  in  this  region  have 
been  made  by  means  of  their  assistance. 

The  volcanic  rocks  which  so  greatly  predominate  in  the  northern  and  western 
portion  of  the  State  are  not  found  to  any  considerable  extent  In  the  southeastern. 
Hence,  there  is  a^much  larger  amount  of  metalliferous  country  accessible  in  the 
same  compass  than  in  other  portions  of  the  State. 

These  volcanic  rocks  are  the  despair  of  the  experienced  prospector,  for  he 
knows  full  well  that  they  enclose  neither  metal  nor  mineral  of  any  value  in  this 
country,  and  where  they  abound  water  is  generally  wanting.  Their  geological 
age  is  comparatively  recent,  and  undoubtedly  more  than  one-half  of  the  metallif- 
erous veins  in  the  State  of  Nevada  are  covered  by  rocks  of  volcanic  origin. 

In  this  part  of  the  State  limestone  predominates,  but  granite,  slate,  and  sand- 
stone occur  at  intervals.  All  of  these  rocks  enclose  valuable  metalliferous  veins 
in  equal  abundance. 

This  limestone  affords  better  exemplifications  of  the  geology  of  the  sedimen- 
ta^y  rocks  than  any  other  sections  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  yet  discovered. 
With  the  slight  and  hasty  examinations  already  made,  the  Silurian,  triassic,  and 
Jurassic  have  been  positively  determined,  and  considerable  evidence  has  been 
found  of  the  existence  of  the  Devonian  and  carboniferous  epochs.  In  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  no  finer  field  exists  for  the  researches  of  a  geologist. 

Trap  dikes  of  porphyry  and  greenstone  are  abundant,  and  enormous  veins 
of  quartzite  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet  in  thickness  can  be  traced  for  forty  or 
fifty  miles. 

Compared  with  the  veins  found  in  California,  Oregon,  Idaho,  and  the  other 
portions  of  Nevada,  the  metalliferous  veins  in  this  portion  of  the  State  are  large, 
and  usually  can  be  traced  on  the  surface  for  a  long  distance. 

As  this  country  has  been  but  recently  explored,  all  of  the  ores  so  far  obtained 
have  been  taken  from  near  the  surface;  consequently,  only  surface  ores  have 
been  obtained.  These  consist  of  chloride  and  carbonate  of  silver,  associated 
with  small  amounts  of  native  silver,  and  nearly  all  contain  gold.  Besides  the 
precious  metals,  ores  of  copper,  lead,  iron,  antimony,  and  arsenic  are  abundant, 
and  when  railroads  traverse  the  country  will  be  of  great  value. 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  133 

So  far  as  observed  all  of  the  geological  formations  contain  valuable  metallifer- 
ous veins,  from  the  azoic  up  to  the  triassic. 

As  this  portion  of  the  State  is  about  two  hundred  miles  east  and  west  by 
three  hundred  north  and  south,  and  contains  k  great  number  of  districts,  each 
of  which  has  a  very  considerable  extent,  and  contains  a  great  number  of  metalli- 
ferous veins,  it  will  be  impossible  in  a  brief  space  to  do  more  than  briefly  notice 
some  of  the  most  important  districts. 

Silver  bend,  or  Philadelphia. — This  district,  which  was  discovered  by  an 
Indian,  is  about  seventy- five  miles  southeast  from  Austin.  It  was  one  of  the 
first  discoveries  in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  its  mines  have  been  more  developed 
than  those  in  the  other  districts. 

One  of  the  principal  veins  is  the  High  Bridge,  which  crops  to  the  surface  for 
the  .distance  of  about  a  mile,  and  has  been  opened  at  a  number  of  different 
point&,  and  at  one  to  the  depth  of  about  fifty  feet.  It  appears  to  be  composed 
of  a  number  of  different  strata,  all  of  which  contain  rich  ore ;  their  aggregate 
thickness  varies  from  five  to  twenty  feet. 

The  country  rock  is  slate,  and  it  has  .every  indication  of  being  a  true  fissure 
vein,  and  consequently  will  be  found  deep  and  permanent.  It  contains  a  large 
amount  of  good  milling  ore  at  the  surface. 

A  small  ten-stamp  mill  has  been  erected  for  reducing  the  ore,  and  the  average 
yield  is  about  one  hundred  dollars  per  ton,  the  mill  saving  about  sixty  per  cent, 
of  the  silver  contained  in  the  ore.  Its  daily  production  is  a  trifle  over  one 
thousand  dollars,  provided  it  was  fully  opened ;  with  suitable  mills  for  the 
reduction  of  its  ores  the  production  of  bullion  could  be  increased  tenfold. 

The  Silver  Champion  has  produced  richer  ore  than  any  other  vein  in  the 
district.  It  is  smaller  than  the  High  Bridge,  and  has  not  been  opened  but  to  a 
small  extent.  Besides  this,  there  are  a  number  of  other  veins  in  this  district 
of  great  promise,  as  the  Green  and  Oder,  Silver  Top,  Minerva,  and  many  others. 

The  metalliferous  veins  are  found  in  slate  and  limestone,  the  greater  number 
being  in  the  slate,  while  the  veins  in  the  granite,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
examined,  are  entirely  barren. 

Northumberland  district. — This  district  is  about  twenty  miles  north  from 
Silver  Bend,  and  on  the  same  slope  and  same  range  of  mountains.  Here  the 
metalliferous  veins  are  found  in  slate  and  granite. 

Rich  ores  are  found  near  the  surface,  and  when  opened,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  it  will  prove  to  be  a  valuable  district. 

Wood  and  water  are  moderately  abundant,  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  dis- 
trict for  years  to  come. 

It  is  singular  tliat  the  granite  at  Silver  Bend  should  enclose  only  barren  veins, 
and  at  this  district,  which  is  only  twenty  miles  distant,  and  in  the  same  range 
of  mountains,  with  granite  apparently  of  the  same  lithological  character,  should 
contain  some  of  the  richest  veins  in  this  district.  This  shows  the  fallacy  of 
the  notion  that  some  particular  rock  is,  in  all  cases,  more  favorable  for  enclosing 
metalliferous  veins  than  another  of  azoic  or  sedimentary  rocks — experience 
showing  that,  in  Nevada,  all  of  the  rocks,  except  the  volcanic,  contain  valuable 
mines. 

Hot  creek. — This  district  was  named  from  a  group  of  hot  springs,  the  waters 
of  which  uniting  form  a  creek  of  some  magnitude,  retaining  its  heat  for  a  long 
distance  below.  This  furnishes  an  abundant  supply  of  water  for  the  use  of  the 
district.  Along  the  banks  of  the  stream  the  warmth  of  the  water  induces  a 
growth  of  vegetation  of  tropical  luxuriance,  and  many  plants  grow  here  that 
are  not  found  in  other  parts  of  the  State. 

The  country  rock  is  chiefly  limestone,  with  small  amounts  of  slate  and  granite 
traversed  by  numerous  trap  dikes. 

The  metalliferous  veins  are  large,  rich,  and  numerous,  and  many  of  them  show 
large  amounts  of  valuable  ore  at  the  surface. 


134  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

As  this  is  one  of  the  most  recent  discoveries,  but  tittle  work  lias  been  done 
in  developing  and  proving  the  mines.  But  the  results  of,  the  workings  of  a 
number  of  tons  of  ore  from  different  mines  have  been  very  satisfactory. 

A  small  mill  is  nearly  completed  and  will  soon  be  in  running  order,  and  from 
the  richness  and  abundance  of  the  ores,  and  the  experience  of  the  managers, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  enterprise  will  be  successful. 

Wood  is  very  abundant  near  the  mines,  being  mostly  nut  pine,  which  is  excel- 
lent for  fuel,  but  very  indifferent  for  lumber. 

Reveille  district. — This  district  is  about  forty  miles  southeast  from  Hot  creek, 
and  about  the  same  distance  northwest  from  Pahranagat.  This  is  a  more  recent 
discovery  than  Hot  creek,  which  it  greatly  resembles,  having  the  same  country 
rock,  with  veins  of  equal  or  larger  size,  containing  the  same  ores,  and  the  district 
is  probably  of  equal  value. 

Pahranagat  district. — This  is  the  only  mining  district  in  the  State  that  was 
discovered  by  Mormons  or  people  from  Salt  Lake.  It  was  found  about  a  year 
before  any  other  district  in  this  part  of  the  State.  It  is  situated  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  State,  about  two  hundred  miles  from  the  head  of  navigation 
on  the  Colorado  river,  according  to  what  is  believed  to  be  the  best  authorities, 
although  many  others  make  the  distance  much  less. 

The  mineral  belt  is  long  and  narrow,  and  contains  a  great  number  of  veins  in 
a  small  compass.  They  are  usually  of  fair  size  and  well  impregnated  with  ore, 
and  when  developed  will  no  doubt  prove  valuable. 

The  country  rock  is  the  same  as  in  Hot  creek  and  Reveille,  and  the  general 
characteristics  are  the  same.  The  laws  of  this  district  are  very  liberal  to  the 
original  discoverers,  but  almost  entirely  exclude  later  prospectors.  They  re- 
quire no  work  on  the  mine  except  to  pile  a  heap  of  stones,  and  that  holds  the 
mines  perpetually.  Hence  no  work  has  been  done,  and  none  probably  ever  will 
be  done,  by  a  majority  of  the  present  holders.  A  New  York  company  have 
recently  commenced  operations,  and  no  doubt  will  thoroughly  prove  their  mine. 

Sil-ver  Peak  — This  district  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  south  from 
the  city  of  Austin.  The  country  rock  consists  of  granite,  slate,  and  limestone, 
the  greater  number  of  veins  being  in  the  slate.  They  are  usually  large,  and 
contain  both  gold  and  silver,  besides  copper  and  lead. 

A  mill  has  'been  erected  and  run  for  a  considerable  time,  but  the  workings 
were  not  very  satisfactory,  owing  to  the  large  amount  that  was  lost  in  the  tailings. 

The  Vanderbilt  and  Pocatilla  are  the  two  most  noted  veins  in  this  district. 
They  are  of  large  size,  and  with  a  mill  capable  of  saving  the  gold  and  silver 
would  yield  a  fair  profit.  , 

A  large  number  of  other  districts  have  been  formed  in  this' part  of  the  State, 
as  the  Danville,  Palmetto,  Red  Mountain,  Pawdit,  Columbus,  and  Volcano. 
From  all  of  these  specimens  of  rich  ore  have  been  obtained,  but  their  true  value 
can  be  determined  only  after  they  have  been  fully  developed. 

In  Columbus  district  a  few  of  the  veins  have  been  partially  opened,  and  ore 
worked  from  them  with  most  satisfactory  results.  In  another  year  a  mill  will 
probably  be  erected,  and  with  proper  management  ought  to  be  successful. 

Volcano  district  has  veins  which  contain  gold  and  silver,  but  is  remarkable  for 
cropping  of  larger  copper  veins  than  any  other  yet  found  in  California  or  Ne- 
vada. These  veins* have  not  been  opened,  but  the  outcrop  is  of  enormous  mag- 
nitude, and  the  ore,  besides  copper,  contains  a  small  amount  of  silver.  When 
this  country  has  proper  railroad  facilities  this  copper  ore  will  be  of  great  value. 

Although  this  mining  region  has  been  too  recently  discovered  to  admit  of 
definitely  proving  its  value  by  working  on  a  large  scale,  still  sufficient  has  been, 
learned  to  prove  that  it  contains  vast  deposits  of  ore  rich  in  gold  and  silver. 

Salt  is  found  abundantly  in  nearly  allot' the  valleys,  in  marshes,  or  as  an  incrust- 
ation on  the  soil  at  the  bottom  of  the  basins.  From  these  sources?  is  derived  all 
the  salt  that  is  used  in  the  reduction  of  the  silver  ore  throughout  the  State,  the 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS,  135 

annual  consumption  for  this  purpose  in  the  State  being  very  great.  But  at 
Pahranagat  salt  is  found  in  a  mine  in  vast  quantities.  It  is  in  large  transparent 
crystals,  and  also  beautifully  colored,  green,  blue,  &c.,  as  in  the  Cordana  mine 
in  Spain.  This  variety  is  much  purer  and  stronger  than  that  found  in  the  val- 
leys. This  latter  variety  was  deposited  by  evaporation,  and  contains  much 
soda  and  other  impurities. 

Coal  has  been  found  at  Volcano  and  Pahranagat  and  near  Salt  Lake,  and 
from  the  geological  structure  of  this  part  of  the  State  it  is  highly  probable  that, 
when  full  explorations  have  been  made,  coal  will  be  found  in  abundance,  and 
of  good  quality.  That  found  near  Salt  Lake  has  been  worked  to  a  considerable 
extent,  aud  has  been  pronounced  to  be  of  excellent  quality.  At  Pahranagat 
and  Volcano  no  work  has  been  done  to  prove  the  quality  or  extent^  except  what 
has  been  done  by  nature.  This  is  a  very  fine  field  for  exploration  in  a  country 
like  this,  where,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  fuel  will  be  a  very  important  con- 
sideration. 

As  this  region  has  been  until  recently  infested  by  bands  of  hostile  Indians, 
rendering  it  dangerous  for  small  parties  of  prospectors  to  remain  long  in  the 
country,  considerable  irregularities  have  been  observed  in  the  formation  of  new 
districts  and  in  the  framing  of  laws. 

At  SnVer  Bend  a  district  was  formed,  and  called  the  Philadelphia  district, 
with  laws  and  regulations  as  is  usual  in  such  cases.  From  a  variety  of  causes 
the  founders  of  the  district  were  obliged  to  leave,  when  another  set  of  prospect- 
ors came  in,  formed  another  district,  and  claimed  the  mines  by  virtue  of  their 
laws.  The  result  has  been  vexatious  and  expensive  litigation. 

At  Tahranagat  the  laws  exclude  new  comers,  and  do  not  require  the  owners 
to  do  any  work  on  the  mines. 

A  general  law  by  Congress  regulating  the  formation  of  new  districts,  and 
making  them  a  matter  of  record,  so  that  after  a  district  is  once  organized^  its  ex- 
istence can  be  easily  proved,  would  prevent  troubles  of  this  nature  from  arising 
in  the  future ;  also  a  clause  setting  forth  precisely  the  conditions  under  which 
a  claim  becomes  forfeited.  In  many  of  the  mining  districts,  if  no  work  is  done 
on  a  claim  for  the  space  of  one  year  the  claim  is  considered  to  be  abandoned. 
This  clause  in  mining  laws  is  pretty  general,  but  in  many  courts  it  has  been 
decided  that  miners  by  their  laws  have  a  right  to  prescribe  the  mode  of  posses- 
sion, but  not  the  mode  of  disposition.  As  the  mines  in  each  district  differ,  arid 
in  one  it  is  advisable  to  claim  ground  on  each  side  of  the  vein,  and  in  others 
it  is  not,  these  points  can  be  better  regulated  by  the  miners  themselves  than 
by  any  general  law,  but  in  the  formation  of  districts,  and  provisions  for  the 
forfeiture  of  a  claim,  some  general  law  is  requisite. 

'    A.  BLATCHLY, 

Mining  Engineer. 

AUSTIN,  NEVADA,  November  26,  1866. 


— r 

[From  Governor  McCornrick's  message,  October  8,  1666.] 
ARIZONA. 

Finances.— The  total  territorial  indebtedness,  as  audited  to  this  time,  amounts 
to  twenty-one  thousand  and  fifty-one  dollars  and  forty-one  cents,  and  there  is  a 
balance  of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  the  treasury  to 
the  credit  of  the  general  fund.  Of  this  indebtedness,  fifteen  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety  dollars  are  payable  in  gold,  being  the  amount  of  bonds  (and 
interest  on  the  same  to  January  4,  1867)  issued  under  the  act  of  the  first 
assembly,  approved  November  9,  1864,  and  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the 
contingent  expenses  of  the  territorial  government."  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
until  the  present  year  but  two  of  the  counties  were  fully  organized,  and  that 


136  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

n«ow,  although  all  contribute  to  the  revenue,  the  total  receipts,  owing  to  the 
limited  amount  of  taxable  property  in  the  Territory,  are  small,  this  is  no  more 
than  a  reasonable  debt.  Compared  with  that  of  neighboring  Territories,  con- 
taining a  larger  population  and  far  better  sources  of  revenue,  it  is  insignificant, 
and  will  be  complained  of  only  by  those  singular  individuals  who  expect  the 
wheels  of  government  to  move  without  cost. 

Still  I  would  advise  that  no  expenditure  of  the  territorial  funds,  however 
earnestly  it  may  be  asked,  or  necessary  it  may  seem,  be  authorized  by  your 
honorable  bodies  without  the  most  careful  consideration ;  and  if  you  can  impress 
upon  the  counties  the  importance  of  economy  in  their  affairs,  it  will  be  well  to 
do  so.  In  the  matter  of  promptly  and  thoroughly  collecting  the  revenue  they 
should  be  urged  to  increased  vigilance,  not  only  for  their  own  benefit  but  for 
that  of  the  Territory  at  large. 

Some  seven  thousand  dollars  of  the  gold  bonds  before  referred  to  will  become 
due  in  a  little  more  than  a  year  from  this  date,  and  although  another  legislature 
may  meet  before,  that  time,  it  is  not  too  early  to  make  provision  to  insure  their 
payment,  and  thus  to  sustain  the  territorial  credit. 

There  is  a  balance  of  about  live  hundred  dollars  in  the  treasury  from  the  special 
fund  created  by  the  sale  of  territorial  mining  claims,  which  I  would  suggest  be 
assigned  to  the  general  fund;  also,  that  all  further  receipts  from  such  sales  be 
so  disposed  of. 

The  Treasury  Department  having  made  the  Territory  an  internal  revenue 
district,  and  appointed  an  assessor  and  collector,  we  may  soon  expect  to  be  called 
upon  to  contribute  directly  to  the  national  revenue.  I  had  hoped,  in  view  of  our 
comparatively  small  population,  and  the  drawbacks  with  which  we  have  to  con- 
tend, that  we  should  escape  other  than  territorial  taxation  for  the  present.  But 
-  it  becomes  us,  as  loyal  citizens  of  the  great  republic,  cheerfully  to  do  our  part, 
however  humble  it  may  be,  towards  cancelling  the  sacred  debt  incurred  in  pre- 
serving the  national  integrity. 

The  mines. — If  there  is  less  excitement  over  our  mining  interests,  there  is 
more  confidence  in  their  excellence,  and  a  strengthened  belief  that  their  develop- 
ment will  surprise  the  world.  Ten  quartz  mills  will  have  been  erected  in  this 
county  alone  before  the  close  of  tiie  present  year.  Those  already  in  operation 
afford  a  gratifying  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  gold  ores,  and  as  the  lodes  are 
sunk  upon  they  show  permanence  and  size.  The  appearance  of  sulphurets  and 
refractory  elements  at  a  certain  depth  may  involve  the  necessity  of  more  elabo- 
rate machinery,  but  no  obstacles  will,  I  think,  be  sufficient  to  baffle  the  enter- 
prise of  our  miners,  who,  depending  more  upon  their  own  energies  and  capital 
than  upon  help  fromfabroad,  are  determined  to  know  no  such  word  as  fail. 

The  rare  advantages  of  wood,  water,  and  climate  are  more  than  sufficient  to 
offset  the  costs  of  living  and  the  heavy  expense  of  transporting  machinery  here, 
and  I  believe,  as  I  have  often  asserted,  that  there  are  few  localities  upon  the 
Pacific  coast  where  quartz  mining  may  be  so  economically,  agreeably,  and 
profitably  pursued. 

Those  of  the  silver  mines  below  the  Gila,  and  on  the  Colorado,  that  arc 
judiciously  worked,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  show  great  wealth,  and  fully 
maintain  the  traditional  reports  of  the  metallic  opulence  of  the  country. 

The  considerable  capital  now  devoted  to  the  development  of  the  copper  lodes 
on  the  Colorado  and  Williams  Fork  is  but  an  earnest  of  that  which  this  im- 
portant work  will  soon  command.  The  uniform  richness  of  the  ore,  the  quantity 
of  the  same,  and  the  facilities  for  its  extraction  and  shipment  combine  to  make 
the  mines  among  the  most  desirable  of  the  kind  upon  the  continent. 

Mining  laws.- — The  act  of  Congress  to  legalize  the  occupation  of  mineral 
lands,  and  to  extend  the  rights  of  pre-emption  thereto,  adopted  at  the  late  ses- 
sion, preserves  all  that  is  best  in  the  system  created  by  miners  themselves,  and 
saves  all  vested  rights  under  that  system,  while  offering  a  permanent  title  to  all 


WEST    OF   THE   ROOKY   MOUNTAINS,  137 

who  desire  it,  at  a  merely  nominal  cost.  It  is  a  more  equitable  and  practicable 
measure  than  the  people  of  the  mineral  districts  had  supposed  Congress  would 
adopt ;  and  credit  for  its  liberal  and  acceptable  provisions  is  largely  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  representatives  from  the  Pacific  coast,  including  onr  own  intelli- 
gent delegate.  While  it  is  not  without  defects,  as  a  basis  of  legislation  it  is 
highly  promising,  and  must  lead  to  stability  and  method,  and  so  inspire  in- 
creased confidence  and  zeal  in  quartz  mining. 

As,  in  the  absence  of  necessary  legislation  by  Congress,  the  act  gives  au- 
thority to  the  legislature  of  any  State  or  Territory  to  provide  rules  for  the  loca- 
tion and  working  of  mines  to  their  complete  development,  it  will  be  your  duty 
to  prepare  such  rules,  either  by  amending  the  present  mining  law  of  the  Terri- 
tory so  as  to  conform  to  the  law  of  Congress,  or  by  its  repeal,  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  an  entirely  new  statute.  Whatever  your  preference  in  this  particular,  I 
would  suggest  that  care  be  taken  to  make  the  required  rules  as  intelligible  and 
comprehensive  as  possible,  and  that  the  recording  and  preservation  of  titles, 
both  for  the  security  of  the  miner  and  the  capitalist,  and  to  obviate  future  litiga- 
tion, be  intrusted  only  to  the  most  responsible  officers.  It  is  also  important  that, 
excepting  in  districts  where  active  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  absolutely 
prevents,  the  actual  occupation  and  improvement  of  claims  be  made  a  requisite 
to  their  possession,  unless  pre-empted  under  the  congressional  law.  The  lack 
of  such  a  requirement  hitherto  has  seriously  retarded  the  development  of  our 
mineral  resources  and  the  general  prosperity  of  the  Territory,  and  proven  dis- 
couraging to  new  comers,  especially  in  the  counties  on  the  Colorado  river,  where 
hundreds  of  lodes,  taken  up  in  years  past  by  parties  now  absent  from  the  Ter- 
ritory, are  unworked,  and  yet,  under  the  existing  law,  no  one  has  a  right  to  lay 
claim  to  them,  be  he  ever  so  able  or  anxious  to  open  them. 

Agriculture. — The  valleys  of  the  Territory,  more  extensively  cultivated  this 
year  than  ever  before,  have  produced  an  abundant  harvest.  The  yield  of  corn, 
vegetables  and  small  grain  is  such  as  to  prove  that  henceforth  we  need  not  look 
abroad  for  food  ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  that  if  assured  that  their  crops  will  be 
bought  and  promptly  paid  for,  and  they  are  properly  protected  from  Indian  in- 
cursions, our  ranchmen  will,  during  the  ensuing  year,  by  the  favor  of  Heaven, 
raise  all  the  breadstuffs  that  may  be  required  to  subsist  the  military  force  in  the 
Territory.  Here  in  central  Arizona,  even  in  the  mountain  districts,  where  com- 
paratively little  was  expected  in  the  way  of  agricultural  success,  the  pursuit  of 
the  husbandman  is  likely  to  be  one  of  the  most  profitable.  The  heavy  rains  of 
the  present  season  indicate  that  irrigation  will  seldom  be  necessary,  and  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  is  remarkable.  f  It  seems  as  though  everything  planted  attained 
the  most  luxuriant  and  complete  growth  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  The 
grains,  vegetables,  and  melons  taken  promiscuously  from  any  of  the  ranches, 
and  raised  without  fertilization  of  any  kind,  or  other  than  the  simplest  care, 
would  command  a  premium  if  placed  in  competition  with  the  products  of  the 
richest  and  most  expensive  farms  and  gardens  of  the  Atlantic  States. 

Land  district. — By  the  seventh  section  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  July 
22,  1854'  the  pre-emption  privilege  was  extended  to  lauds,  whether  settled  upon 
before  or  after  survey,  within  the  region  of  country  comprehended  by  the  present 
Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  Hitherto  pre-emption  declarations,  in 
virtue  of  this  act  and  that  of  July  2,  1864,  have  been  filed  with  the  surveyor 
general,  but  Congress  having  made  Arizona  a  land  district,  they  will,  so  soon  as 
the  district  is  organized,  be  received  here. 

The  congressional  mining  law  provides  that  wherever,  prior  to  the  passage  * 
of  the  act,  upon  the  lands  heretofore  designated  as  mineral  lands,  which  have 
been  excluded  from  survey  and  sale,  there  have  been  homesteads  made  by  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  or  persons  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  be- 
come citizens,  which  homesteads  have  been  made,  improved,  and  used  for  agri- 
cultural purposes,  and  upon  which  there  have  been  no  valuable  mines  of  gold, 


138        RESOURCES  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper  discovered,  and  which  are  properly  agricultural 
lands,  the  said  settlers  or  owners  of  such  homesteads  shall  have  a  right  of  pre- 
emption thereto,  in  quantity  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres ;  or  said 
parties  may  avail  themselves  of  the  provisions  of  the  homestead  act  of  Congress, 
approved  May  20,  1862.  It  further  provides  that  upon  the  survey  of  the  so- 
called  mineral  lands,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  designate  and  set  apart 
such  portions  of  such  lands  as  are  clearly  agricultural  lands,  which  lands  shall 
thereafter  be  subjeet  to  pre-emption  and  sale  as  other  public  lands  of  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  all  the  laws  and  regulations  applicable  to  the  same. 

This  favorable  action,  and  the  establishment  of  a  land  office,  whereby  all  delay 
in  perfecting  titles  will  be  obviated,  must  encourage  our  people  in  the  cultivation 
of  lands  in  immediate  proximity  to  the  mines — a  matter  of  the  first  importance 
to  the  prosperity  of  our  mining  interests. 


SECTION   5. 

1.  Copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast. — 2.  Various  copper  districts. — 3.  Geological  forma- 
tions in  which  copper  is  found,  &c. — 4.  Reduction  of  ores,  quantity,  &c. 


1.— THE  COPPER  RESOURCES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  COAST. 

Introductory  remarks. — The  comparatively  recent  date  when  the  importance 
of  these  resources  first  attracted  any  attention ;  the  extent  of  territory  over  which 
they  have  been  traced ;  the  absence  of  any  correctly  compiled  statistics  con- 
nected with  them  in  either  the  State  or  federal  offices  j  the  indisposition  .of  influ- 
ential parties  to  give  any  information,  under  the  plea  that  it  would  expose  the 
secrets  of  their  business,  and  the  efforts  of  others  to  make  mines  in  which  they 
are  interested  appear  of  greater  or  less  value  than  wrell-known  facts  would  war- 
rant ;  the  vague  and  unreliable  nature  of  most  of  the  articles  which  from  time  to 
time  appear  in 'the  local  papers  on  the  subject,  as  well  as  many  minor  impedi- 
ments, render  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  convey  a  clear  idea  of  the  proportions  and 
actual  value  of  these  resources  in  a  hastily  compiled  report.  Even  were  the 
fullest  details  of  information  available,  many  interesting  facts  must  unavoidably 
be  crowded  out  of  such  a  report.  Sufficient  maybe  presented  here,  however,  to 
demonstrate  the  extent  and  value  of  the  copper  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
to  prove  that  under  a  more  judicious  system  of  development  they  may  be  made 
much  more  profitable  to  their  owners  as  well  as'to  the  federal  government,  and 
that  an  important  means  towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  end  will  be  attained 
by  the  collection  and  proper  arrangement  of  statistical  and  general  information 
on  the  subject. 

The  discovery  of  copper  on  tlie  Pacific  coast. — The  existence  of  copper  on  the 
Pacific  coast  was  well  known  for  many  years  before  California  became  a  State 
in  the  great  American  republic.  The  ores  of  this  metal  are  known  to  have  been 
found  in  Mexico,  at  various  points,  in  great  abundance  for  centuries  past.  In 
the  territory  within  the  limits  of  this  State  they  were  found  as  far  back  as  1840, 
near  the  Solidad  pass,  about  ninety  miles  north  of  Los  Angeles. 

The  first  officially  recorded  discovery  of  copper  in  California,  since  it  has  be- 
come a  State,  was  made  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Trask,  who  acted  as  State  geologist  from 
'1851  till  1854.  During  that  time,  in  the  course  of  his  travels,  he  found  copper 
in  nearly  every  county  in. the  State — the  first  discovery  being  made  near  a 
place  then  called  Round  Tent,  in  Nevada  county. 

As  but  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  report  of  these  discoveries,  and  the  notes 
and  specimens  of  the  ores  collected  by  Doctor  Trask  were  soon  after  lost  or 
destroyed,  they  exercised  but  little  influence. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  139 

In  the  summer  of  1855  public  attention  was  again  called  to  tlie  fact  of  tlio 
existence  of  copper  in  this  State,  by  the  disco  very  of  a  body  of  beautiful  ore 
at  Hope  valley,  Amador  county,  by  an  old  prospector  known  as  Uncle  Billy 
Rodgers.  The  ore  from  this  place,  being  rich  in  garnets,  attracted  great  atten- 
tion. About  the  same  time  a  party  of  prospectors  in  Eldorado  county  found 
a  large  body  of  green  and  blue  carbonates  on  a  side  of  a  hill  a  few  miles  from 
Placerville,  and,  attracted  by  the  brilliant  colors  of  these  minerals,  collected  sev- 
eral sacks  full  of  them  and  sent  them  to  Pan  Francisco,  where,  by  assay,  they 
were  found  to  contain  40  per  cent,  of  copper,  and  worth  about  $140  per  ton. 

These  discoveries  were  mentioned  in  nearly  all  the  papers  published  in  the 
State  at  the  time,  but  were  soon  forgotten  in  tlie  more  exciting  search  for  gold 
which  occupied  almost  everybody's  attention,  and  the  now  great  copper  resources 
of  the  Pacific  coast  remained  without  an  effort  being  made  for  their  development 
till  November,  1860,  when  Mr.  Hiraai  Hughes,  returning  from  a  trip  to  Washoe, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  search  for  silver,  while  prospecting  for  that  metal  among  the 
foot-hills  that  margin  the  valley  of  San  Joaquin,  without  being  aware  of  the  fact 
discovered  the  gossan  or  cap  of  a  copper  lode,  on  what  is  now  known  as  Quail 
Hill  No.  1 — an  insignificant  mound  among  the  Gopher  hills,  in  the  southwest- 
ern portion  of  Calaveras  county,  about  35  miles  southeast  from  Stockton,  and  six 
miles  from  Central  ferry,  on  the  Stanislaus  river.  This  gossan,  which  presented 
much  .the  appearance  of  a  body  of  iron-rust  held  together  by  a  frame-work  of 
quartz,  was  found  to  be  very  rich  in  gold,  and  it  was  for  this  metal  that  Hughes 
worked  his  claim.  Soon  after,  while  making  further  explorations  for  "  iron- 
rust,"  he  discovered  the  croppings  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Napoleon  mine, 
about  three  miles  southwest  of  his  first  discovery.  As  there  was  less  gold,  and 
considerable  of  what  was  then,  to  him,  an  unknown  mineral,  in  this  place,  he 
sent  a  lot  of  the  ore  to  San  Francisco,  where  it  was  pronounced  30  per  cent, 
copper  ore,  and  worth  about  $120  per  ton.  As  soon  as  this  fact  became  known 
there  was  a  great  excitement,  and  everybody  began  prospecting  for  "iron-rust," 
and  as  the  indications  of  copper  were  to  be  found  almost  at  every  point  among 
the  Gopher  hills,  hundreds  of  claims  were  speedily  marked  out  and  recorded — 
the  favorite  direction  being  along  the  course  of  the  lode  on  which  the  Napoleon 
was  located,  as  this  was  easily  traced  for  miles;  the  most  important  "exten- 
sions" on  the  original  lode  being  the  Josephine  on  the  west,  the  Lotus,  Mag- 
nolia, and  Collier  on  the  east.  But  as  none  of  these  mines  except  the  Napoleon 
ever  produced  mucji  marketable  ore,  work  on  all  of  them  very  soon  ceased. 
Hughes  and  his  partners,  after  partially  developing  the  Napoleon  mine,  which 
contained  2,700  feet  on  the  lode,  in  1862  sold  eleven-eighteenths  of  it  to  a  com- 
pany for  $22,000.  This  company,  in  October,  1862,  was  incorporated  under  the 
title  of  the  Napoleon  Copper  Mining  Company,  which,  after  taking  out  of  the 
mine  and  shipping  about  4,000  tons  of  good  ore,  sold  the  mine,  in  1864,  to  Mar- 
tin &  Greenman,  dealers  in  ores,  of  San  Francisco,  who  at  present  own  and 
work  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  amount  of  prospecting  that  followed  Hughes's  dis- 
coveries, it  was  not  till  some  time  in  June,  1861,  that  the  lode  on  which  the 
mines  at  Copperopolis  are  located  was  discovered,  though  it  is  only  about  six 
miles  from  the  Napoleon,  and  the  locators  of  the  Union,  Keystone,  and  other 
mines  were  all  old  residents  and  miners  in  the  vicinity.  W;  R.  Reed,  Dr. 
Blatchly,  and  Mr.  McCarty  located  11,250  feet  of  the  Copperopolis  lode  in 
July,  1861.  This  location  embraced  the  ground  now  owned  by  the  Union, 
Keystone,  Empire,  Calaveras,  and  Consolidated  companies.  Many  interesting  • 
and  instructive  facts  might  be  here  introduced  to  exhibit  the  ignorance  of  the 
parties  who  first  discovered  these  important  mines  as  to  the  value  of  their  prop- 
erty. The  following  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  this  curious  fact : 

J.  W.  Bean,  esq.,  who  built  the  first  hotel  at  Copperopolis,  had  been  mining 
for  years  among  the  Gopher  hills  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Salt  Spring  valley; 


140  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

and  though  such  was  the  abundance  and  beauty  of  the  specimens  of  copper  ores 
all  around  him  that  he  collected  nearly  a  cart-load  of  them  as  curiosities  to 
decorate  his  rude  cabin,  he  afterwards  threw  them  away  as  useless.  In  1855 
he  had  collected  so  many  of  these  specimens  that  his  partner  would  not  have 
any  more  of  them  brought  into  the  cabin. 

Mr.  Hughes,  whose  blindly-directed  enterprise  led  to  the  discovery  of  the 
value  of  the  copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast,  had  also  been  mining  for 
years  among  the  Gopher  hills ;  and  although  his  observant  attention  had  been 
attracted  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  rocks  that  form  these  hills,  he  had  no  idea 
of  the  stores  of  wealth  that  lay  scattered  so  lavishly  all  around  him  till  he^had 
made  a  trip  to  Washoe  during  the  excitement  which  followed  the  discovery  of 
silver  there.  When  in  that  Territory,  being  forcibly  struck  with  the  great  re- 
semblance between  the  rocks  near  the  Cornstock  lode  and  those  that  he  was  so 
well  acquainted  with  about  the  Gopher  hills  and  Salt  Spring  valley,  and  not 
being  successful  over  there,  he  returned  to  the  old  familiar  field  of  his  labors 
and  commenced  prospecting  for  silver,  and  did  not  know  for  many  months  after 
his  return  that  he  had  acquired  a  fortune  by  discovering  a  copper  mine.  So 
with  Mr.  McCarty.  one  of  the  present  owners  of  the  great  Union  mine.  He 
had  lived  in  Salt  Spring  valley  nearly  ten  years,  mining  and  ranching  by  turns. 
As  early  as  1852  he  had  sunk  a  deep  prospect-hole  on  the  ground  now  belong- 
ing to  the  Keystone  company,  and  threw  away  the  rich  copper  ores  as  -worth- 
less, while  seeking  for  gold,  which  he  never  found.  So  with  Mr.  Hardy,  an- 
other of  the  original  locators  of  the  Union.  This  gentleman,  a  keen,  intelli- 
gent man  of  business,  who  was  for  a  long  time  the  superintendent  of  that  mine, 
and  afterwards  became  a  senator  for  Calaveras  county,  resided  for  years  within 
two  miles  of  where  Copperopolis  now  stands  without  having  any  idea  of  the 
immense  wealth  that  lay  stored  up  for  him  in  the  hard,  sterile  banks  of  the  little 
creek  that  meandered  past  his  homestead. 

The  limits  of  this  report  will  not  admit  of  any  further  digression  on  this  very 
interesting  history. 

As  soon  as  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  discovery  made  by  Mr. 
Reed  and  his  party  became  known,  the  rush  of  prospectors  to  the  locality  be- 
came tremendous,  and  in  a  few  days  claims  were  staked  off  extending  for  nearly 
twenty  miles  in  all  directions  along  the  lode,  or  rather  lodes,  (for  there  are  more 
than  one  of  them,)  across  and  parallel  to  them.  Large  sums  of  money  were  in 
many  instances  expended  in  the  purchase  and  development  of  claims  which 
were  located  miles  away  from  all  indications  of  lode  whatever. 

One  of  the  effects  of  this  great  excitement  was  the  creation  of  the  now 
thriving  town  of  Copperopolis,  the  first  house  in  which  was  built  by  Mr.  Reed 
in  September,  1861.  In  less  than  two  years -after  it  contained  a  population  of 
nearly  2,000,  which  supported  three  schools,  two  churches,  a  weekly  newspa- 
per, four  hotels,  with  stores  and  workshops  of  all  kinds  sufficient  for 'an  active, 
thrifty  community.  It  now  has  three  lines  of  stages  running  to  and  from  it 
daily,  and  has  a  costly  railroad  in  course  of  active  construction  to  connect  it 
with  the  navigable  waters  of  the  San  Joaquin  river,  which,  when  completed, 
will  more  than  double  its  wealth  and  population. 

To  give  the  names  of  all  the  claims  that  were  located  in  an  around  Salt 
Spring  valley  during  the  first  great  excitement  would  serve  no  useful  purpose, 
as  most  of  them,  after  the  expenditure  of  more  or  less  labor,  have  either  been 
abandoned  altogether  or  are  held  till  labor  and  transportation  shall  become 
cheaper  or  copper  ores  become  more  valuable.  The  most  important  mines 
in  the  valley  at  present — the  only  ones  that  are  being  developed — are  the 
Calaveras,  Empire,  Union,  Keystone,  Consolidated,  and  Kentucky,  which  range 
from  south  to  north  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  written,  and  the  In- 
imitable, which  is  located  on  the  east  side  of  and  parallel  with  the  Union.  The 
developments  in  this  and  other  mines  located  parallel  with  the  original  claims 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  141 

leave  little  room  to  doubt  that  there  are  at  least  two — some  persons  say  four — 
distinct  lodes,  or  very  large  consecutive  bodies  of  ore,  identical  in  composition, 
independent  of  the  main  lode.     The  question  of  whether  there  is  one  or  more 
lodes  promises  to  be  as  fruitful  a  point  for  the  lawyers  to  settle  as  a  similar  * 
question  was  among  the  owners  on  the  Comstock  lode,  in  Nevada. 

The  thousands  of  persons  from  all  parts  of  the  State  who  were  attracted  to 
the  Salt  Spring  Val}ey  mines  by  the  reports  of  their  value,  thus  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  the  general  appearance  of  copper  ores,  on  returning  to  their  seve- 
ral districts  soon  discovered  these  ores  almost  everywhere,  so  that  before  the 
close  of  the  year  1861  a  well-defined  belt  of  copper  ore,  containing  several  dis- 
tinct lodes,  was  traced  and  partially  developed  from  a  point  about  thirty  miles 
north  of  Los  Angeles,  at  La  Solidad,  through  Mariposa,  Merced,  Fresno,  Tuo- 
lumne,  Stanislaus,  El  Dorado,  Placer,  Nevada,  Yuba,  Trinity,  Sierra,  Plumas, 
and  Shasta  counties,  to  a  point  about  twenty  miles  west  of  the  town  of  Yreka, 
in  Siskiyou  county,  where  it  enters  the  State  of  Oregon  in  a  northern  spur  of 
the  Siskiyou  mountains,  the  most  western  branch  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas.  As 
will  be  more  fully  explained  in  another  portion  of  this  report,  there  is  a  most 
remarkable  uniformity  in  the  direction  and  dip  of  the  lodes  in  this  great  copper 
belt,  as  well  as  in  the  geological  formations  in  which  they  are  found,  in  the 
character  of  their  ores,  and  in  several  other  features,  all  which  point  to  a  simul- 
taneousness  of  origin  over  very  large  tracts,  many  portions  of  which  have  been 
much  disturbed  and  shifted  by  subsequent  subterranean  action. 

Other  extensive  deposits  of  copper  ores  have  been  discovered  in  the  coast 
range,  particularly  around  the  base  of  a  spur  of  Mount  Diablo,  at  the  low  divide 
in  Del  Norte  county ;  in  Hope  valley,  Amador  county ;  at  Whiskey  Hill,  in 
Placer  county,  and  at  several  other  points  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  particu- 
larize at  this  time. 

The  results  of  all  these  discoveries  were  the  location  of  thousands  of  claims, 
some  of  them  of  considerable  importance,  in  nearly  every  county  of  the  State, . 
and  the  incorporation  of  a  countless  number  of  copper  mining  companies,  whose 
certificates  of  stock  were  bought  and  sold  at  the  public  boards  and  by  private 
merchants  by  thousands  ;  and  for  about  a  year  the  development  of  the  copper 
resources  of  the  Pacific  coast  was  prosecuted  with  great  zeal.  But  a  few  months' 
experience  taught  those  most  deeply  interested  in  the  business  that,  with  un- 
skilled and  expensive  labor,  uncertain  and  costly  transportation,  and  a  great  dis- 
tance from  a  market  for  the  final  disposal  of  the  ore,  it  is  unprofitable  to  work 
the  richest  and  most  extensive  copper  mines  in  the  world. 

The  excitement  attending  the  discovery  of  so  much  copper  in  California,  as 
may  well  be  supposed,  soon  spread  through  the  adjoining  States  and  Territories, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  many  important  lodes  were  discovered  in  Oregon,  Ne- 
vada, Colorado,  Sonora,  and  Lower  California.  As  it  will  be  quite  impossible 
to  even  mention  all  these  discoveries  in  detail,  only  a  few  of  the  most  important 
will  be  referred  to  at  this  time.  . 

In  1860  a  miner  named  Hawes,  who  had  long  been  working  in  that  vicinity, 
having  his  attention  attracted  to  the  quantity  of  metallic  copper  found  in  the 
sluices  of  the  miners  who  were  engaged  at  Placer  mining  for  gold,  commenced 
a  search,  and  soon  discovered  a  valuable  lode  of  copper  ore  in  'a  small  gulch 
about  six  miles  from'  Waldo,  Josephine  county.  On  (his  lode  was  subsequently 
located  the  Queen  of  Bronze  mine,  the  most  important  copper  mine  in  Oregon. 
Soon  after  the  discovery  made  by  Hawes,  other  parties  found  an  extensive  cop- 
per district  on  the  Illinois  river,  near  the  junction  of  that  river  and  Fall  cre-:jk, 
about  eighteen  miles  north-northwest  from  Waldo.  Another  district  was  about 
the  same  time  discovered  at  Ilockland,  in  Josephine  county,  in  which  more  than 
twenty  mines  of  importance  were  subsequently  located. 

Copper  has  also  been  found  in  Wasco  county  ;  on  the  John  Day  river,  and 
at  several  other  points  in  the  State  of  Oregon.  The  districts  in  Josephine 


142  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

county  being  near  the  dividing  line  between  that  State  and  California,  and  the 
lode  having  been  examined  from  Waldo  to  near  Crescent  City,  Del  Norte 
county,  in  the  latter  State,  where  an  extensive  district  known  as  the  Alta  has 
since  been  developed,  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that  they  are  all  located  on  the 
game  great  belt  of  copper  ores  referred  to  above. 

The  largest  masses  of  metallic  copper  found  on  this  coast  have  been  obtained 
from  these  Oregon  mines.  One  piece  reported  to  have  weighed  half  a  ton  was 
taken  from  the  "Diamond"  mine  ;  another  piece  weighing  four  hundred  pounds 
was  taken  from  the  "  Cruikshank  "  mine,  and  a  great  many  pieces  weighing  from 
one  hundred  to  three  hundred  pounds  each  have  been  found  in  this  vicinity. 

In  1862  several  valuable  deposits  of  copper  ore  were  discovered  on  Williams's 
fork  of  the  Colorado  river,  in  Arizona  Territory,  near  where  Aubrey  City  has 
been  since  located.  Butjt  was  not  till  November,  18G3,  when  Mr.  Robert  Ry- 
land,  of  San  Francisco,  commenced  work  on  the  "Planet"  mine,  at  this  place, 
that  the  true  value  of  these  Arizona  copper  mines  was  ascertained.  There  are 
undoubted  proofs  of  the  existence  of  exceedingly  valuable  copper  mines  in  this 
Territory,  at  various  points  convenient  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Colorado 
and  its  tributaries.  Mr.  Pompelly,  a  scientific  geologist  and  mineralogist,  who 
subsequently  was  appointed  mineralogist  to  the  Japanese  government,  macle  an 
extended  examination  of  the  mineral  resources  of  Arizona,  and  ki  the  published 
report  of  his  observations  he  refers  particularly  to  the  extraordinary  richness 
and  extent  of  the  copper  resources  of  the  Territory.  Other  parties,  who  have 
travelled  extensively  through  it  since  Mr.  Pompelly,  fully  corroborate  all  that 
gentleman  reported  on  this  subject.  Important  mines  have  been  discovered,  and 
districts  organized  at  many  points  in  the  Territory,  among  which  are  the  Irataba 
district,  about  twenty-five  miles  southwest  from  Fort  Mohave  j  the  Freeman 
district,  about  sixty  miles  south  of  Williams's  fork  ;  the  Chimewawa  district,  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Colorado,  nearly  opposite  La  Paz ;  the  Salaza  district, 
about  thirty-five  miles  northeast  of  La  Paz,  and  the  Castle  Dome  district,  about 
thirty  miles  north  of  the  Gila.  The  formations  in  which  the  copper  is  found 
in  this  Territory  are  altogether  different  from  those  in  which  it  is  found  in  Oregon 
and  California.  The  ores  themselves  are  also  quite  distinct,  and  far  more  valu- 
able than  those  found  in  these  States.  The  details  of  these  peculiarities  will 
be  given  hereafter. 

About  the  time  the  Colorado  mines  were  discovered,  a  singular  but  quite  ex- 
tensive lode  of  copper  ore,  containing  considerable  metallic  copper  and  silver, 
was  discovered  near  Loretto,  in  the  province  of  Comondu,  Lower  California. 
Several  tons  of  exceedingly  rich  ore,  which  averaged  sixty  per  cent.,  were  brought 
to  San  Francisco  in  1862,  from  theN"  Favorita  "  mine,  also  in  Lower  California. 

In  1864  a  number  of  valuable  deposits  of  copper  ores  were  discovered  in  va- 
rious places  in  the  State  of  Nevada.  Among  the  most  important  of  these  dis- 
coveries are  the  "Peavine"  district,  near  the  Hennep  pass,  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  line  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad.  The  completion  of  this  road  to 
the  neighborhood  of  this  district  has  given  it  much  importance  of  late,  the 
railroad  company  offering  to  deliver  the  ore  in  Sacramento  at  nine  dollars  per 
ton.  Other  copper  mines  have  been  located  on  Walker's  river,  in  EsmeralcU 
county,  and  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Carson  river,  in  Ormsby  county,  and  at 
other  points  in  this  State,  the  ores  from  which  will  be  profitable  to  ship  as  soon 
as  the  completion  of  the  Pacific  railroad  shall  afford  the  means  for  sending  them 
to.  a  market. 

The  above  hurriedly  compiled  notes,  though  giving  the  merest  outlines  of  the 
extent  of  the  copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast,  are  sufficient  to  convey  an 
idea  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  these  resources,  which,  under  a  judi- 
cious system  of  encouragement  by  the  federal  government,  may  be  made  to  pro- 
duce many  millions  of  dollars  annually. 

The  locality  of  the  most  important  mining  districts — It  will  be  impossible 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  143 

under  this  heading  to  mention  any  except  those  in  which  well-known  mines  are 
located,  and  of  these  only  to  give  the  merest  outline  description.  To  avoid 
expansion,  as  the  materials  are  very  abundant,  only  those  from  which  ores  'are 
known  to  have  been  exported  will  be  referred  to.  These  are  the  following : 

The  Copperopolis,  Table  Mountain,  Napoleon,  Laucha  Plana,  Campo  Peco, 
and  Copper  Hill,  in  Calaveras  county. 

The  Newton,  Cosumnes,  and  Hope  Valley,  in  Amador  county. 

The  La  Victoire  and  Birdseye,  in  Mariposa  county. 

The  Buchanan,  in  Fresno  county, 

The  Osos,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 

The  Solidad,  in  Los  Angeles  county. 

The  Genesee  Valley,  in  Plumas  county 

The  Alta,  in  Del  Norte  county. 

The  Mount  Diablo,  in  Contra  Costa  county. 

The  Rockland,  in  Oregon. 

The  Peavine,  in  Nevada. 

The  Favorita  and  Sauce,  in  Lower  California. 

The  Williams  Fork,  in  Arizona. 

Copperopolis  mines. — The  Copperopolis  mines  are  located  in  Salt  Spring 
valley,  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  Calaveras  county,  about  thirty-five  miles 
nearly  east  from  Stockton,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  San  Joaquin  river. 
This  valley  is  large,  beautiful,  and  well  sheltered,  and  very  fertile,  producing 
all  descriptions  of  fruits,  grain,  and  vegetables  in  the  greatest  perfection.  Its 
peculiar  excellence  in  these  respects  has  caused  it  to  be  more  or  less  under  cul- 
tivation since  the  settlement  of  California  by  the  Americans.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  east  by  the  Bear  mountains,  a  lofty  branch  of  the  foot-hills  lying  between 
the  Stanislaus  and  Calaveras  rivers,  which  nearly  divide  Calaveras  county  into 
two  parts.  On  the  west  it  is  bounded  by  a  range  of  low  broken  hills  which 
skirt  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  of  San  Joaquin.  It  extends  nearly  to  the 
Calaveras  river  on  the  north.  The  most  famous  copper  mines  on  the  coast  are 
located  on  the  west  of  this  valley,  near  the  head  of  what  is  called  Black  creek, 
a  small  tributary  to  the  Stanislaus. 

The  lode  on  which  the  Union,  Keystone,  Empire,  Calaveras,  and  Consolidated 
mines  are  located  passes  through  this  valley  in  the  direction  of  north  30°  west. 
It  has  been  more  or  less  developed  for  about  fifteen  miles,  and  found  to  curve 
slightly  towards  the  north,  at  its  western  extremfty. 

There  are  other  lodes  in  this  valley  on  which  are  located  many  mines  known 
to  be  of  great  value,  though  they  have  not  been  as  extensively  developed  as 
those  on  the  main  lode.  It  is  claimed  that  there  are  four  of  these  lodes,  which 
range  from  a  few  feet  to  six  miles  in  distance  from  the  main  one,  but  all  follow 
the  same  direction.  This  cupriferous  belt  has  been  traced  with  comparatively 
slight  interruptions  from  this  valley  to  the  American  river,  its  general  course 
being  about  north  15°  west. 

The  most  important  mine  in  the  valley  is  the  Union.  This  contains  1,950 
feet  on  the  main  lode,  which  was  originally  divided  into  thirteen  shares  of  150 
feet  each.  But  at  present  it  is  nearly  all  owned  by  Meader,  Lalor  &  Co.,  mer- 
chants of  San  Francisco,  Mr.  McCarty,  one  of  the  original  locators,  being  the 
only  one  retaining  any  portion  of  their  claim. 

The  owners  of  this  mine  never  formed  themselves  into  an  incorporated  com- 
pany, as  nearly  all  other  mining  companies  generally  do.  Probably  no  necessity 
arose  to  compel  them,  as  no  assessments  were  ever  levied  on  their  shares,  the 
mine  paying  well  from  the  very  commencement  of  their  operations.  It  gave 
them  a  dividend  of  $11,000  per  share  in  December,  1862,  and  during  the  year 
1863  the  dividends  amounted  to  820,000  per  share,  clear  of  all  expenses.  It 
is  not  possible  to  tell  how  much  the  mine  has  paid  since,  in  consequence  of 


144  RESOURCES   OF   STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

Header  &  Co  having  purchased  it  soon  after  the  last  dividend  in  1863  was 
declared,  and  they  have  their  own  reasons  for*  not  making  its  revenue  public. 
It  is  alleged  that  in  the  winter  of  1863  that  firm  paid  Mr.  Reed,  the  locator  of 
the  mine,  $65,000  in  cash  for  975  feet.  In  1864  Mr.  Hardy,  another  of  the 
original  locators,  it  is  stated  sold  his  interest  in  the  mine  to  the  same  firm  for 
$650,000. 

There  is  but  little  doubt  that  this  mine  contains  the  largest  body  of  yellow 
sulphurets  of  copper  ever  discovered.  Some  scientific  gentlemen  have  expressed 
doubts  as  to  whether  this  body  of  ore  is  a  true  vein,  or  merely  a  local  surface 
deposit,  as  it  does  not  present  some  of  the  characteristics  of  veins  of  similar  ore 
found  in  other  counties.  The  fact  that  it  has  been  explored  to  the  depth  of 
upwards  of  500  feet  without  any  symptoms  of  its  giving  out,  and  that  it  has 
been  examined  for  many  miles  consecutively,  presenting  the  same  general 
appearance  throughout,  is,  to  say  the  least,  a  stronger  proof  in  support  of  the 
opinion  that  it  is  a  continuous,  regular  vein,  than  any  theory  can  be  that  it  is  not. 

The  work  on  this  mine  is  carried  on  by  means  of  three  shafts,  which  have 
been  sunk  from  300  to  500  feet  on  the  lode,  from  which  several  levels  or  drifts 
have  been  run  along  its  course.  For  the  purpose  of  hoisting  the  ore  there  is  a 
fourteen  horse-power  steam-engine  at  the  mouth  of  each  of  the  two  outer  shafts. 

At  the  main  shaft,  from  which  the  mine  is  drained,  there  is  an  eighty  horse- 
power engine,  which  is  used  for  both  pumping  and  hoisting.  Another  shaft  is 
in  progress,  and  nearly  completed,  which  is  being  sunk  for  the  purpose  of 
striking  the  lode  at  a  depth  of  between  400  and  500  feet,  at  a  point  where  it  is 
known  to  dip  considerably  to  the  east.  All  the  other  shafts  having  been 'com- 
menced on  the  lode,  passed  through  it  on  reaching  a  limited  depth,  going  further 
from  it  as  the  depth  increased,  involving  an  increased  expense  in  running 
tunnels  to  strike  it  at  each  succeeding  level. 

The  dimensions  of  this  body  of  ore  have  been  ascertained  with  tolerable  ac- 
curacy, for  a  length  of  nearly  600  feet,  and  to  a  depth  of  upwards  of  400  feet, 
by  shafts  and  levels  which  have  been  made  in  it.  Near  the  surface,  for,  say 
150  feet  in  depth,  the  lode  varied  in  proportions  very  much,  ranging  from  one 
foot  to  twelve  feet  in  width.  At  the  depth  of  200  feet  in  the  main  shaft  it. was 
nearly  21  feet  wide;  at  250  feet  deep,  it  was  nearly  30  feet  wide;  and  continued 
of  nearly  tlie  same  width  to  300  feet  in  depth,  when  it  became  less  uniform, 
and  began  to  decrease  in  proportions,  till  at  the  depth  of  about  400  feet  at  the 
north,  near  the  Keystone  line,  it  had  decreased  to  about  6  feet  in  width,  while 
for  200  feet  north  from  the  main  shaft  it  is  nearly  28  feet  wide.  As  the  Key- 
stone company  have  recently  struck  the  lode  on  their  ground,  within  100  feet 
of  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  mines,  at  a  depth  of  360  feet,  where  it  is 
10  feet  wide,  it  is  presumable  that  its  contraction  in  the  Union,  at  nearly  the 
same  level,  is  not  permanent. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  obtain  correct  information  as  to  the  product  of  this 
mine,  from  its  opening  up  to  the  present  time,  as  its  proprietors  seem  averse  to 
furnishing  particulars/  It  is  known,  however,  that  the  exports  of  ore  from  this 
State  amounted  to  5,553  tons  in  1863,  and  to  10,234  tons  in  1864,  at  least  one- 
half  of  which  was  obtained  from  the  "Union."  The  company's  books  show 
that  from  the  10th  March  to  the  31st  December,  1865,  25,542/tons  of  ore  were 
actually  shipped  from  the  mine.  As  the  firm  owning  it  state  that  the  average 
of  all  its  ores  shipped  is  15  per  cent.,  and  estimate  it  to  be  worth  $75  per  ton, 
it  follows  that  its  products  for  1865  exceeded  $1,500,000  in  value.  The  ship- 
ments for  1866,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  table  of  exports,  will  exceed 
those  of  1S65— the  quantity  shipped  being  only  limited  by  the  number  of 
vessels  available  for  carrying  it  away.  The  above  figures  will  convey  a  slight 
idea  of  the  importance  of  developing  such  a  fruitful  source  of  national  wealth 
as  is  presented  in  the  copper  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  Union  company  employ  about  250  men  about  the  mine,  in  the  various 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  145 

departments  of  its  operations.     None  of  the  companies  at  Copperopolis  employ 
any  Chinese  coolies. 

The  Keystone  is  next  in  importance  to  the  Union,  which  it  adjoins  on  the 
north.  It  contains  3,300  feet  on  the  lode.  It  is  owned  by  an  incorporated 
joint-stock  company,  the  shares  in  which  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  number. 
It  was  on  this  claim  that  the  first  work  of  development  on  the  lode  was  done, 
in  what  is  still  called  the  discovery  shaft,  on  the  north  end  of  the  claim,  and 
Which  is  still  used  by  the  company  in  their  operations. 

The  shareholders  in  this  mine  have  not  been  as  fortunate  as  those  of  the 
Union.  The  Keyston  ehas  never  yielded  them  a  dividend  since  its  discovery  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  cost  them  $100,000  in  assessments  over  and  above  the 
receipts  from  its  whole  product  of  ore,  which  up  to  October  1,  1866,  amounted 
to  5,719  tons,  worth,  at  $75  per  ton,  8428,925.  The  enormous  expenses  in- 
curred in  the  development  of  this  mine  ha^ve  probably  been  caused  by  mis- 
management, and  costly,  useless  experiments  for  concentrating  the  low  grade 
ores,  of  which  the  mine  produces  very  large  quantises. 

The  best  informed  among  the  stockholders  in  this  mine  estimate  that  it  hag 
produced  sufficient  ore  to  defray  all  the  expenses  of  working.  The  $100,000 
collected  as  assessments  have  been  expended  in  experiments  and  machinery. 
The  company  have  very  fine  and  powerful  hdisting,  pumping,  and  concentrating 
machinery.  The  latter  is  only  used  during  the  winter  and  spring,  when  there 
is  an  abundance  of  water  available.  The  ores  in  the  Keystone  are  identical 
with  those  in  the  Union,  but  they  are  not  found  in  as  large  a  body,  or  as  com- 
pact. The  lode  in  this  mine  has  at  no  time  exceeded  ten  feet  in  width,  and  it 
is  usually  so  much  divided  by  the  containing  slate  that  the  cost  of  its  separa- 
tion by  hand-labor  causes  it  to  be  not  very  profitable  to  the  company.  At  the 
depth  of  260  feet  in  the  main  shaft  the  lode  was  only  six  feet  wide,  and  con- 
tained a  body  of  iron  pyrites  nearly  a  foot  thick  through  the  centre  of  it  for 
nearly  150  feet  in  length,  and  it  was  further  divided  by  seams  of  slate  into 
irregular  masses  from  one  inch  to  six  inches  thick. 

The  greatest  depth  reached  on  this  mine  is  about  400  feet.  Quite  recently, 
in  the  sixth  level,  at  a  depth  of  about  360  feet  in  the  Houghton  shaft — that  is, 
the  shaft  nearest  to  the  dividing  line  between  this  mine  and  the  Union — a  body 
of  ore  nearly  ten  feet  thick  was-  struck  while  drifting  within  150  feet  of  this 
dividing  line.  In  this  body  of  ore  there  is  only  about  four  feet  sufficiently  rich 
to  pay  for  shipping ;  the  remainder  is  so  divided  by  the  containing  slate,  or  con- 
tains so  large  a  proportion  of  iron  pyrites,  as  to  fall  below  the  average  of  12  per 
cent ,  the  present  lowest  grade  of  paying  ore. 

There  are  six  shafts  in  this  mine,  only  two  of  which,  the  discovery  shaft  and 
that  nearest  the  Union,  are  in  use — the  cost  of  sinking  and  timbering  the  others 
being  nearly  a  total  loss  to  the  compnny.  In  fact,  the  first  two  years'  work  done 
on  the  mine  was  wasted  through  the  inexperience  of  those  who  were  intrusted 
with  its  management. 

The  annual  product  of  the  Keystone,  according  to  the  books  of  the  company, 
has  been  as  follows: 

1862 . .        596  tons  of  2,  376  pounds. 

1863 7 . .  . . 758  tons  of  2,  376  pounds. 

1864 1,  506  tons  of  2,  376  pounds. 

1865 1,  743  tons  of  2,  376  pounds. 

1666,  (til!  October  1,) 1,  386  tons  of  2,  376  pounds. 

Total  production 5,  719  tons. 

The  company  employ  about  one  hundred  men  in  the  various  departments  of 
their  works. 

The  Empire  mine  is  located  next  to  the  Union,  on  the  south.     It  contains 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 10 


146  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

1,800  feet  on  the  same  lode.  It  is  owned  by  an  incorporated  company,  the 
majority  of  the  stockholders  in  which  are  capitalists  who  reside  at  New  York. 
This  company  have  expended  a  very  large  amount  of  money  in  developing  their 
mine.  The  greater  portion  of  this  expenditure,  as  has  been  the  case  with  the 
Keystone  company,  has  been  wasted  through  incompetent  management.  Great 
improvements  in  this  respect  have  been  made  recently,  and  the  prospects  of  the 
company  are  promising.  The  explorations  now  in  process  show  considerable 
good  ore,  and  there  are  indications  of  an  increase  in  the  dimensions  of  the  lode. 

The  ore  in  this  is  similar  to  that  in  all  the  other  mines  on  the  lode ;  but  in 
the  croppings  on  this  claim  there  was  considerably  more  quartz  than  there  was 
upon  any  other  claim  on  the  lode.  In  this  quartz,  which  was  of  a  milky  white- 
ness, there  was  metallic  copper,  crystallized  in  leaf  and  fern-like  forms,  which 
were  exceedingly  brilliant  and  beautiful  when  first  taken  out  of  their  stony 
matrix. 

The  Calaveras  is  located  next  south  of  the  Empire,  on  the  same  lode,  of 
which  it  contains  3,000  feet.  The  croppings  on  this  claim  were  exceedingly 
rich,  but  the  lode  has  not  proven  to  be  so  below  the  surface.  Several  shafts 
have  been  sunk  and  many  drifts  and  cuttings  made  without  finding  any  body 
of  ore  of  importance.  The  company  are  not  working  this  mine  at  present. 

The  Consolidated  is  located  on -the  same  lode,  north  of  the  Keystone.  It 
contains  3,000  feet. 

The  Webster  is  the  name  of  another  important  mine  in  this  valley.  It  is 
located  about  one  and  a  half  mile  east  of  Copperopolis,  on  a  massive  body  of 
ore  nearly  twenty-eight  feet  wide.  This  ore  is  of  a  different  character  to  that 
in  the  main  lode,  and  is  much  less  valuable  ;  for,  though  quite  solid  and  compact, 
it  does  not  average  more  than  eight  per  cent.,  in  consequence  of  the  larger  per- 
centage of  iron  it  contains. 

The  Inimitable  is  another  important  mine  in  this  valley,  located  on  a  dif- 
ferent lode  altogether.  This  mine  is  situated  parallel  with  the  Union,  and  but 
a  few  feet  apart  from  it,  on  the  east  side.  So  close  are  these  two  mines  together 
that  the  owners  of  the  Inimitable  had  some  intentions  of  suing  the  Union  com- 
pany for  damages  for  taking  out  some  of  their  ore  on  some  of  the  lower  levels, 
which  they  claimed  was  on  the  Inimitable's  ground.  The  Napoleon  mine,  which 
is  located  four  miles  south  from  Copperopolis,  is  on  the  eastern  end  of  alode  which 
runs  through  this  valley,  parallel  with  the  main  lode,  but  about  six  miles  apart 
from  it,  which  has  been  located  upon  for  nearly  fifteen  miles.  The  Scorpion, 
Swansea,  Massachusetts,  Pacific,  and  other  valuable  mines,  are  located  on  this 
parallel  lode.  These  lodes  are  easily  traced  to  near  the  banks  of  the  river, 
where  they  all  disappear,  and  are  not  again  visible  till  near  the  town  of  Monte- 
zuma,  in  Tuolumne  county,  six  miles  from  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Gopher 
Hill,  where  the  first  discovery  of  copper  was  made,  is  supposed  to  be  the  ex- 
treme west  of  the  main  lode. 

The  above  is  not  by  any  means  a  complete  list  of  the  mines  in  Salt  Spring 
\alley.  There  are  scores  of  others,  but  these  are  the  most  important. 

At  present  about  one  thousand  men  are  employed  in  various  capacities  among 
the  mines  in  this  district,  the  larger  proportion  of  whom  are  foreigners,  chiefly 
English  and  Irish.  No  Chinese  are  employed  about  the  mines  except  as  cooks, 
washermen,  and  servants. 

The  Table  Mountain  mine  is  located  about  five  miles  southeast  from  Coppero- 
polis, and  about  one  mile  from  the  Stanislaus  river.  It  is  the  last  claim  on  the 
main  lod*  on  this  side  of  that  river.  It  contains  2,150  feet  on  the  lode,  which 
is  here  about  six  feet  wide,  and  much  divided  by  the  containing  slate.  This 
mine  is  owned  by  a  joint-stock  comply  of  twenty-one  shareholders.  It  has 
been  considerably  developed,  and  about  one  thousand  tons  of  ore  have  been 
shipped  from  it. 

The  Campo  Seco,  Lancha  Pluna,  and  Copper  Hill  mines  are  located  on  a 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  147 

continuation  of  the  main  Copperopolis  lode,  where  it  makes  its  appearance 
between  the  Calaveras  and  Mokelumne  rivers.  All  these  mines  were  discovered 
in  1861,  shortly  after  the  discovery  of  the  Union  and  Keystone  mines.  They 
have  been  extensively  developed,  and  the  lode  has  been  well  tested  by  shafts 
and  drifts.  It  presents  the  same  peculiarities  as  were  noticed  at  Copperopolis. 
Jt  is  quite  large  on  the  Campo  Seco  claim,  being  twenty  feet  wide  at  one  hun- 
dred feet  deep.  It  is  scarcely  as  large  in  the  Lanclia  Plana,  and  in  the  Copper 
Hill  it  is  only  about  six  feet.  The  character  a^id  composition  of  the  ores  are 
identical  with  those  at  Copperopolis,  and  they  are  contained  in  the  same  de- 
scription of  rock,  and  present  many  other  features  of  similarity.  Large  quanti- 
ties of  ore. have  been  shipped  from  these  mines;  but  the  present  low  price  of 
ores,  which  is  lower  than  it  has  previously  been  for  the  past  fifteen  years,  leaves 
so  small  a  profit  after  paying  expenses  that  the  companies  are  storing  most  of 
their  ores  in  anticipation  of  an  improvement  in  the  market.  .  About  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  aie  employed  among  these  mines,  about  forty  of  whom  are  Chi- 
nese, who  perform  much  of  the  labor  .aboye.  ground,  such  as  separating  and 
bagging  the  ores,  &c. 

Quite  extensive  concentrating  works  are  being  put  up  on  the  Campo  Seco 
mine.  The  company  "intend  to  concentrate  most  of  their  ores  into  about  fifty 
per  cent,  matte  or  regulus. 

The  Napoleon  mine  is  located  about  four  miles  south  of  Copperopolis,  in 
what  are  called  the  Gopher  hills,  a  range  of  low,  broken  hills,  very  irregular  in 
form  and  direction,  on  the  east  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  They  are  the  first 
hills  met  with  after  leaving  Stockton  and  travelling  east.  As  has  already  been 
mentioned,  this  was  the  first  copper  mine  opened  in  California.  As  such,  Mr. 
Hughes,  who  discovered  both  the  Napoleon  and  the  Quail  Hill  mines,  claimed 
the  latter  as  a  silver  or  gold  mine. 

The  Napoleon  contains  2,700  feet  on  two  well-defined  lodes  of  ore,  similar  in 
composition  to  those  at  Copperopolis.  It  was  located  in  November,  1860,  and  in 
October,  1862,  was  owned  by  an  incorporated  company  ;  each  foot  in  the  mine 
representing  a  share  of  stock.  In  1863  these  one-foot  £  hares  were  selling  at 
$100  each. 

In  consequence  of  the  country  through  which  the  Napoleon  lode  traverses 
having  been  much  disturbed  by  subterranean  forces,  it  is  extensively  dislocated. 
The  "  faults,"  as  the  miners  call  these  dislocations,  are  so  numerous  that  all  the 
other  mines  on  this  lode  had  to  cease  operations  because  they  could  not  trace 
it  far  enough  consecutively  to  obtain  any  extensive  body  of  ore.  This  misfor- 
tune has  happened  to  the  Napoleon.  At  the  depth  of  about  400  feet  the  lode, 
after  narrowing  from  twenty  to  less  than  six  feet,  finally  was  lost  altogether  by 
a  shift  in  the  containing  rock.  The  company  have  been  engaged  for  more  than 
a  year  in  attempting  to  rediscover  it.  They  have  sunk  a  new  shaft  nearly  400 
feet  deep,  some  distance  to  the  south  of  the  old  one.  The  prospects  are  that 
they  will  meet  with  a  large  body  of  good  ore  in  this  new  shaft. 

The  Napoleon  is  located  on  the  eastern  extremity  of  a  lode  which  has  been 
traced  to  San  Domingo  gulch,  twenty-five  miles  distant,  where  the  Noble  mine, 
owned  by  Pioche  &  Beyergue,  French  merchants  of  San  Francisco,  is  located 
on  it.  The  Napoleon  commenced  shipping  ores  in  May,  1863. 

The  following  statement,  compiled  from  the  books  of  the  company,  furnishes 
full  particulars  of  the  product  of  the  mine  : 


148 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES. 
Shipment  of  ores  from  tlie  Napoleon  copper  mines. 


Date. 

First  class. 

Second  class. 

Concentrated 
ore. 

1863. 
May                .       ..                  

Pounds. 

36  826 

/ 

Founds. 
45  302 

Pounds. 

137  930 

108  420 

July 

185  498 

61  OJ4 

August        .  .           .                 ...     .__-.. 

73,  037 

98,  172 

September                                       ....   .  . 

250  234 

230  873 

October 

232  100 

507  8iO 

187,480 

284  9v>0 

December.           .         .         .         ...... 

69  060 

i   234  110 

Total      

1,172,165 

1,507,621 

1864. 
January  ___    .................  ..I.  ...... 

42  240 

170,  930 

February         .           .  .                           .... 

44  330 

367  020 

March. 

91  9GO 

386  680 

April     .   ...........      .................. 

30,  470 

334  940 

May 

28  970 

205  740 

June 

17  160 

232  100 

July     

49,  720 

252  070 

August                                 .   ....         ....  . 

6  820 

159  750 

September  ,.  

134,410 

420,  835 

October    .         

238,  370 

190,540 

November                   ..         .         ...... 

192  216 

164  025 

Total  

351,570 

2,674,226 

775,  400 

1865. 
March,             .     .....  .........    _ 

8  100 

April 

20  250 

115  950 

May 

78  150 

158,  600 

,    3  

June 

48  450 

132,000 

July 

323  120 

August      .         ............                ..... 

159,  460 

September 

6  420 

170,  305 

Total          .                                     .... 

20,  250 

257  070 

943,  485 

Grand  totals     ..   .  

1,543,985 

4,501,917 

1  ,  718,  885 

Seven  million  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  pounds  altogether,  or  nearly  four  thousand  tons. 

In  September,  1865,  the  company  sold  the  mine  to  Martin  &  Co.,  dealers  in 
ores,  of  San  Francisco.  Since  it  has  been  in  the  hands  of  this  firm,  for  reasons 
explained  above,  the  yield  of  ore  has  nearly  ceased.  The  total  shipments  from 
the  mine  since  the  purchase  have  not  exceeded  150  tons,  of  which  about  one- 
half  has  been  second  class,  and  the  other  concentrated  ore. 

With  reference  to  the  classification  of  the  ores  in  the  above  table,  as  the  same 
method  for  that  purpose  is  followed  in  all  mines  producing  the  same  description 
of  ores,  it  may  be  as  well  to  explain  that  method  in  this  part  of  the  report. 

The  heavy  costs  for  labor,  bags,  transportation,  commissions,  &c.,  causing  all 
ores  below  10  per  cent,  to  be  valueless  on  this  coast,  none  are  shipped  below 
that  grade ;  but  as  there  is  a  considerable  advantage  gained  by  separating  the 
ores  which  vary  more  than  5  per  cent,  in  richness,  the  plan  generally  followed 
is  to  class  all  above  15  per  cent,  as  first,  and  from  10  per  cent,  to  15  per  cent, 
as  second.  There  is  some  difference  in  the  grade  of  the  ores  from  the  various 
mines.  The  Union  ores  are  the  lowest.  The  owners  of  that  mine,  being  ex- 
tensive shipping  agents,  have  facilities  for  shipping  ores  of  less  value  than  will 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  149 

pay  to  ship  from  any  other  mine.  The  average  of  all  the  ores  shipped  from 
the  Union  does  not  exceed  15  per  cent.  From  the  Napoleon  they  were  above 
16  per  cent.,  causing  a  difference  in  value  of  nearly  $5  per  ton.  The  Keystone 
ores  are  about  1  per  cent,  higher  than  the  Union.  • 

The  concentrated  ores  above  referred  to  were  prepared  by  the  following  very 
economical  process  :  A  pit  of  about  two  feet  deep  was  cut  in  the  soft  soil,  about 
twenty  feet  square,  in  which  was  laid  as  evenly  as  possible  about  four  cords  of 
dry  pine  wood;  over  this  was  piled,  in  the  form  of  a  truncated  cone,  one  hundred 
tons  of  ore.  There  was  nothing  more  done,  except  to  ignite  the  wood,  which 
soon  set  the  sulphur  in  the  ore  on  fire,  and  it  continued  to  burn  for  six  or  seven 
weeks,  when  the  greater  portion  of  the  sulphur  having  been  evaporated,  the  fire 
went  out  and  the  ore  was  concentrated  about  6  per  cent ,  or  10  per  cent. ;  poor 
second  class  was  converted  into  16  per  cent.,  or  first  class. 

The  machinery  used  on  this  mine  consists  of  a  small  six-horse  power  steam- 
engine,  for  hoisting  and  pumping.  There  are  usually  about  thirty  hands  em- 
ployed on  this  mine,  about  one-third  of  whom  are  Chinese. 

Quail  Hill,  No.  1,  where  Hughes  made  the  first  discovery  of  copper,  is  about 
three  miles  east  from  the  Napoleon  mine,  arid  about  seven  miles  west  from  Cop- 
peropolis.  Quite  a  town,  called  Telegraph  City,  has  sprang  up  between  these 
two  discoveries  of  Hughes's. 

2.— VARIOUS  COPPER  DISTRICTS. 

Forest  Hill  district. — The  most  important  mines  in  Amador  county  are  the 
Cosumnes,  in  the  Forest  Hill  district,  near  Jackson,  the  county  seat,  and  the 
Newton,  on  the  same  lode,  about  three  miles  to  the  west,  near  lone  valley,  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  valley,  separated  from  the  great  valley  of  the  Sacramento 
by  low,  irregular  hills,  as  Salt  Spring  valley  is  divided  from  the  valley  of  the 
San  Joaquin.  The  Cosumnes  was  located  in  January,  1862.  A  company  to 
work  it  was  incorporated  in  February,  1863.  It  contains  5,000  feet  on  the 
main  lode  and  the  same  quantity  on  the  Oriental  lode,  which  runs  parallel  and 
clQse  to  it.  This  Oriental  lode,  which  is  quite  extensive,  was  discovered  by  the 
llev.  J.  B.  Fish,  in  January,  1863.  It  appears  that  the  reverend  gentleman 
was  returning  from  a  trip  to  Copperopolis,  when  he  observed  the  cfoppings  of 
the  lode  as  he  was  riding  past,  the  location  being  near  the  road.  Getting  off 
his  horse,  he  satisfied  himself  that  what  he  saw  was  copper  ore,  and  located  the 
claim  for  himself  and  friends.  The  parson's  mine  has  produced  nearly  one  hun- 
dred tons  of  good  ore. 

The  Newton  was  located  early  in  1863,  by  Dr.  J.  Newton,  of  Jackson,  in  the 
names  of  himself  and  six  members  of  uptown  family,  who  at  present  control  it. 
Dr.  Newton  was  the  first  person  in  this  county  who  worked  a  copper  mine  in  it. 

Quite  a  town,  called  Copper "  Centre,  has  sprung  up  between  these  two  dis- 
tricts. Two  years  ago  it  was  one  of  the  most  active  copper  mining  c.amps  in 
the  State — hundreds  of  claims  having  been  located  on  the  two  copper  belts, 
which  can  be  traced  fur  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  original  claims.  One  of  these 
belts  is  about  six  miles  northeast  of  the  other,  and  follows  the  same  course  as 
the  parallel  lodes  at  Copperopolis — north  about  50°  east.  These  lodes  also  dip 
from  10°  to  20°  to  the  east,  as  do  those  at  Copperopolis;  are  in  the  same  geo- 
logical formation,  and  the  ores  are  so  much  alike  in  appearance  and  composi- 
tion that  the  best  judges  cannot  tell  one  from  the  other.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  Amador  county  mines  are  located  on  the  same  lodes  as  the  mines 
at  Copperopolis.  There  are  many  valuable  copper  mines  in  this  vicinity,  but 
though  the  great  distance  from  a  market,  and  the  want  of  capital  and  experi- 
ence of  those  who  own  them,  work  on  all  except  the  Cosumne%and  Newton 
has  ceased.  Probably  these  would  also  have  remained  undeveloped  had  not 
Header  &  Co.,  copper  merchants  of  San  Francisco,  become  interested  in  them. 


150  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

A  great  deal  of  work  lias  been  done  on  the  Newton,  which  has  been  suffi- 
ciently tested  by  shafts  and  drifts  to  prove  that  it  is  of  great  value,  and  this 
value  would  be  fourfold  greater  if  there  were  proper  means  for  bringing  the  ore 
to  tide-water.  The  lode  on  this  mine  is  not  so  large  as  it  is  at  Copperopolis,  but 
the  ore  is  less  divided  by  the  containing  elate  than  it  is  in  the  Keystone.  At 
one  hundred  feet  deep  the  lode  here  was  only  three  and  half  feet  wide.  It  in- 
creased considerably  as  the  depth  of  the  shafts  increased.  Most  of  the  ore  from 
this  mine  will  average  15  per  cent.  In  18G4it  shipped  about  one  hundred  tons 
per  month,  averaging  16  per  cent. 

On  the  Cosumnes  ground  the  lode  is  about  ten  feet  wide  at  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  deep,  and  averages  about  16  per  cent.  This  company  shipped 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  per  month  during  1864,  averaging  ]2  per  cent. 

Hope  valley. — The  Rodger's  mine,  in  Hope  valley  in  this  county,  is  located 
a  few  miles  west  of  Carson  canon,  on  the  borders  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  only 
a  few  miles  from  some  of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  1855,  but  has  never  .been  worked  to  any  extent,  though  the  ore  is 
very  valuable  and  of  great  beauty.  It  is  not  a  regular  lode,  but  a  sort  of 
chimney,  which  makes  its  appearance,  about  two  feet  wide  and  nearly  perpen- 
dicular, in  the  face  of  a  lotty  bluff  of  solid,  hard,  white  granite,  at  the  eastern 
end  of  the  valley.  The  only  sign  of  this  body  of  ore  is  confined  to  its  exposure 
in  the  face  of  the  bluff,  and  for  about  thirty  feet  on  the  top  of  it.  A  great  deal 
of  prospecting  has  been  done  in  the  vicinity,  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  continua- 
tion of  it,  but  in  vain.  The  ore  is  accompanied  on  the  south  side  by  a  body  of 
hard,  grayish,  crystaline  limestone,  the  only  sign  of  that  mineral  for  many 
miles  around — the  whole  country  being  composed  of  bare,  rugged  cliffs  and 
peaks  of  felspathic  granite.  On  the  north  side  of  the  ore  there  is  a  seam,  of 
about  a  foot  wide,  of  dark  brown  quartz,  of  a  peculiar  cellular  structure.  There 
is  a  great  abundance  of  brilliant  lime  garnets  in  this  ore,  which",  together  with 
the  peculiar  combination  of  sulphurets,  oxides,  and  carbonates  of  which  it  is 
formed,  render  it  exceedingly  interesting  for  cabinet  specimens  ;  though  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  it  will  ever  pay  to  extract  it  for  commercial  purposes. 

Mariposa  county  mines. — The  existence  of  important  lodes  or  deposits  of 
copper  ores  of  considerable  commercial  value  in  Mariposa  county  was  known 
for  several  years  before  any  attempt  was  made  to  turn  them  to  profitable  ac- 
count. The  croppings  of  a  series  of  large  bodies  of  the  ore  are  seen  protruding 
through  the  surface  all  through  the  county,  from  where  it  unites  to  Merced 
county  on  the  one  side  to  where  it  joins  Fresno  county  on  the  other.  It  was 
not  until  the  summer  of  1S63  that  any  attention  was  paid  to  copper  mining  in 
this  county.  The  distance  from  a  market  and  want  of  roads,  as  well  as  the 
broken  and  disturbed  condition  of  the^eological  formation  in  which  the  ore  is 
contained,  prevented  men  of  experience  and  capital  investing  time  or  money  in 
their  development. 

There  are  two  extensive  districts  in  which  copper  mining  is  carried  on  in  this 
county.  One  is  on  the  south  side  of  it,  on  the  Chowchilla  river,  near  the  divid- 
ing line  between  this  county  and  Merced,  This  is  called  the  Hamilton  district. 
It  embraces  mines  in  both  these  counties.  The  other  is  the  Hunters'  Valley 
district.  This-  is  located  west  of  the  Bear  Valley  mountains  and  south  of  the 
Merced  river.  The  La  Victoire,  the  most  important  copper  mine  in  Mariposa 
county,  is  in  this  district. 

A  good  many  companies  are  working  in  the  Hamilton  district;  but  thus  far 
the  developments  have  not  been  of  much  importance,  as  no  shaft  of  any  con- 
siderable depth  has  been  sunk,  and  no  permanent  lode  has  been  discovered. 
There  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  mines  in  this  county  are  located  on  portions  of 
the  great  cuj^iferous  belt  referred  to  in  the  introductory  remarks  to  this  report 
as  passing  through  the  State;  but  the  shifting  and  dislocation  to  which  it  has 
been  subjected  since  its  formation  have  so  broken  it  up  that  it  is  exceedingly 


WEST    OF   THE    EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  151 

doubtful  whether  any  permanent  mine  will  be  discovered  in  the  southern  district 
of  this  county.  Some  activity  has  been  imparted  to  this  district  during  the 
past  year  by  the  erection  of  several  smelting  furnaces  on  a  small  scale,  which, 
operating  on  the  silicates,  oxides,  and  carbonates  of  the  metal,  which  are  found 
in  great  abundance  for  miles  around,  make  large  quantities  of  regulus  and  black 
copper  from  60  per  cent,  tg  96  per  cent,  of  fineness.  The  owners  of  these  fur- 
naces pay  a  fair  price  of  all  the  ores  of  a  suitable  character  the  miners  can 
bring.  This  will  account  for  the  activity  in  the  district  and  for  the  shallowness 
of  the  explorations,  as  the  ores  cease  to  be  of  the  class  required  at  a  few  feet 
below  the  surface. 

One  of  these  furnaces  has  been  erected  on  James's  ranch,  and  another,  about 
six  miles  distant,  on  the  border  of  Fresno  county,  at  Buchanan  Hollow.  From 
this  latter  place  about  one  hundred  arid  fifty  tons  of  copper,  in  bars  ranging 
from  80  per  cent,  to  96  per  cent,  of  metal,  have  been  exported  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  New  York  by  Coffee  &  llisdon,  the  proprietors  of  the  works. 

The  furnaces  at  James's  ranch  are  constructed  on  the  French  plan,  intro 
duced  on  this  coast,  on  the  Queen  of  Bronze  mine,  in  Oregon,  by  M.  De  Hierry, 
a  French  metallurgist  of  considerable  ability.  They  are  capable  of  operating 
on  about  eight  tons  of  ore  in  twenty -four  hours.  The  class  of  ores  operated  on 
have  averaged  about  12  per  cent.,  the  greater  portion  of  which  has  been  ob- 
tained from  the  Green  Mountain  and  Lone  Tree  mines,  near  the  works. 

The  company  obtain  plenty  of  pine  wood  charcoal  at  $70  to  $80  per  ton. 
All  the  smelting  is  done, with  this  description  of  fuel.  About  a  ton  of  this 
charcoal  is  required  to  produce  a  ton  of  marketable  regulus.  There  are  about 
a  dozen  men  employed  at  each  of  these  works. 

The  furnaces  used  at  Buchanan  Hollow  are  what  are  known  as  Haskell's 
water-lined,  a  brief  description  of'which  will  be  found  under  the  head  of  "  Pro- 
cesses," &c.  They  are  of  about  the  same  capacity  as  those  mentioned  above, 
and  consume  about  the  same  quantity  of  the  same  description  of  fuel.  There 
are  several  of  this  latter  description  of  furnaces  in  use  in  this  State ;  one  on 
the  Cosumues  mine,  in  Amador  county ;  another  on  the  La  Victoire  mine,  in 
Mariposa  county,  and  several  others  are  in  an  advanced  state  of  construction  in 
various  localities. 

About  six  miles  south  of  these  smelting  works  at  Buchanan  Hollow  there  are 
several  of  the  best  mines  in  this  county ;  among  them  is  the  Bachman.  In  the 
shaft  on  this  mine,  at  a  depth  of  sixty  feet,  the  lode  is  ten  feet  wide,  composed 
of  yellow  sulphurets,  identical  in  appearance  and  composition  with  those  found 
at  Copperopolis  and  Campo  Seco,  and  accompanied  with  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  lodes  in  those  districts,  and  affording  many  facts  to  prove  a  connection 
in  the  origin  of  all  of  them. 

Near  the  smelting  works  on  James's  ranch  there  is  a  series  of  lodes,  traceable 
for  about  ten  miles,  and  ranging  N.  24°  W.,  corresponding  very  closely  with 
those  already  noticed  in  Salt  Spring  valley.  In  a  shaft  sunk  on  the  Dozer 
lode,  one  of  this  series,  at  a  depth  of  eighty  feet  it  was  found  to  be  six  feet 
wide,  composed  of  nearly  solid  yellow  sulphiiret.  But,  as  was  explained  above, 
the  disturbance  of  the  containing  rock  does  not  hold  out  a  reasonable  hope  of 
the  permanence  of  any  body  of  ore  in  the  district. 

Mr.  Haskell,  the  proprietor  of  the  Buchanan  lode,  has  recently  sold  it  and 
the  smelting  works  above  described  to  a  firm  at  Stockton  for  $22,000.  This 
will  afford  a  basis  on  which  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  best  mines  in  the  dis- 
trict. 

The  <4La  Victoire"  mine,  in  Hunter's  valley,  is  a  most  valuable  propc^'y, 
being  second  in  importance  to  scarcely  any  copper  mine  in  the  State.  It- is 
located  in  a  section  of  this  county  which  has  not  been  affected  by  those  dis- 
turbing causes  which  have  broken  up  the  lodes  in  all  the  other  sections.  It 
also  possesses  the  very  great  advantage  of  having  an  immense  body  of  very 


152  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

good  ore  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  country,  wliich  enables  the  com- 
pany to  extract  it  without  the  use  of  expensive  hoisting  and  pumping  machinery. 
The  lode  runs  through  a  hill  several  hundred  feet  in  length  and  nearly  three 
hundred  feet  high,  cropping  out  on  the  very  summit  of  it,  and  traceable,  un- 
broken, through  its  entire  length,  at  an  average  width  of  nearly  five  feet.  The 
proprietors,  who  are  mostly  Frenchmen,  have  sunk  shufts  on  the  lode  at  both 
ends  of  the  base  of  this  hill  to  the  depth  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet,  without 
discovering  any  material  difference  in  its  appearance,  the  only  important  change 
being  that,  while  the  lode  dips  to  the  east  at  an  angle  of  45°  at  twenty-five  feet 
below  the  surface,  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  at  one  hundred  feet  lower,  it  dips  at  an 
angle  of  68° ;  but,  as  it  increases  nearly  a  foot  in  thickness  at  the  point  where 
the  dip  changes,  it  is  evident  that  the  change  has  not  been  the  effect  of  disloca- 
tion. A  great  deal  of  very  rich  ore  has  been  taken  out  ef  this  mine,  much  of 
it  containing  sufficient  gold  to  pay  for  working  it  for  that  metal  only. 

It  may  be,  proper  in  this  connection  to  state  that  the  copper  bars  made  in  this 
county  by  the  furnaces  described  above  contain  a  very  large  per  cent,  of  gold. 
Some  of  it,  assayed  by  Kellogg  &  Hueston,  of  San  Francisco,  was  found  to 
contain  as  high  as  $450  to  the  ton.  Much  of  this  copper  contains  $50  in  gold 
to  the  ton;  none  of  it  less  than  $20. 

There  is  a  small  smelting  furnace  on  this  mine,  but  it  is  not  in  use.  For  the 
past  year  but  little  work  of  any  kind  has  been  done  on  the  mine  in  consequence 
of  disagreements  among  the  owners,  one  portion  of  whom  are  playing  the  game 
of  "  freeze  out "  upon  the  others. 

There  are  several  other  good  copper  mines  in  this  district,  but  those  who  own 
them  do  not  appear  to  have  either  the  means  or  disposition  to  develop  them,  and 
capitalists  from  abroad  are  afraid  to  invest  very  extensively  in  such  mines  in 
this  county  till  they  have  been  better  examined. 

San  Luis  Obispo  county  mines. — The  Osos  mines  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
were  discovered  in  the  spring  of  1864.  They  are  situate  about  eight  miles 
west  of  the  Old  Mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  on  the  Osos  ranch,  near  the  south 
end  of  a  wide  belt  of  cupriferous  ores  that  is  traceable  for  more  than  twenty 
miles  to  the  north,  among  the  range  of  mountains  which  lay  between  the  town 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  and  the  Old  Mission  of  Santa  Marguerita.  This  belt  of  ore, 
on  which  there  are  a  great  number  of  mines,  presents  very  much  the  same  pe 
culiarities  as  are  mentioned  in  the  description  of  the  Hamilton  district,  in  Mari- 
posa  county.  The  disturbance  of  the  lode  by  subterranean  causes  has  broken 
it  up  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  it  unprofitable  to  mine.  The  Osos  district, 
as  is  the  case  with  Hunter's  valley,  in  Mariposa,  appears  to  have  been  less 
affected  by  these  disturbing  causes.  A  shaft  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  deep  has 
been  sunk  on  the  Osos  lode,  wliich  was  from  four  feet  to  twelve  feet  wide.  One 
hundred  tons  of  ore,  averaging  eighteen  per  cent.,  have  been  shipped  from  this 
mine  direct  to  Boston  and  Swansea,  and  there  are  several  hundred  tons  more 
ready  for  shipment.  Ex-congressman  Phelps  is  extensively  interested  in  these 
mines. 

Los  Angeles  county  mines. — The  Solidad  district,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  is 
located  about  thirty  miles  due  north  from  Los  Angeles.  The  knowledge  of  the 
existence  of  copper  in  this  locality  was  published  by  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras 
nearly  twenty  years  ago,  as  it  was  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  that 
placer  mining  for  gold  was  carried  on  as  far  back  as  1840.  Mr.  Bidwell,  mem- 
ber of  Congress  for  California,  saw  these  early  gold  miners  at  work,  and  prob- 
ably saw  the  croppings  of  the  copper  lode,  which  are  quite  extensive  and  con- 
spicuous for  a  long  distance.  In  1854  a  Frenchman  named  Maris  discovered 
the  mines  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Solidad  district,  but  the  discovery  at- 
tracted no  attention  till  the  excitement  about  copper,  which  followed  tbe  dis- 
covery of  the  mines  at  Salt  Springs  valley,  in  1861  and  1862,  when  great  ac- 
tivity in  prospecting  raged  in  this  locality,  and  a  great  amount  of  work  was 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  153 

done  during  the  following  two  years.  At  present,  and  for  more  than  a  year 
past,  none  of  the  claims  have  been  worked.  Among  the  few  important  mines 
'in  this  district  are  the  La  Solidad,  Copper  Hill,  and  Occidental.  On  the  first 
named,  at  the  depth  of  one  hundred  feet,  the  lode  was  found  to  be  about  seven 
feet  wide.  This  is  the  deepest  shaft  in  the  district. 

The  geological  formations  and  ores  in  this  district  are  precisely  the  same  as 
those  already  described  in  San  Luis  Obispo  and  Mariposa  counties,  and  the 
same  disturbing  causes  have  broken  up  the  lodes,  which  range  in  the  same  direc- 
tion within  a  few  degrees. 

Plumas  county  mines. — The  copper  mines  in  Genessee  valley,  Plumas 
county,  are  the  highest  on  this  coast,  the  valley  in  which  they  are  located  being 
a  small  basin  of  a  few  miles  in  circumference,  embosomed  high  up  among  some 
of  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  which  are  clustered  together  in  the 
northeast  of  this  county.  This  portion  of  Upper  Plumas  contains  some  of  the 
most  magnificent  scenery  to  be  found  on  the  coast.  Immense  granite  ridges  are 
seen  rising  bare  and  bleak  two  and  sometimes  three  thousand  feet  above  the 
densely  wooded  ridges  at  their  base,  while  below,  canons  thousands  of  feet  deep 
form  courses  for  the  waters,  which  look  like  silver  threads  as  they  go  meander- 
ing through  the  black  gorges  that  lead  them  to  unite  with  the  waters  of  the 
Feather  river,  thtmsands  of  feet  still  further  below.  Nature  appears  to  have 
performed  some  of  her  mightiest  labors  in  this  locality.  Subterranean  fires 
have  piled  up  the  molten  rocks  thousands  of  feet  high,  for  the  highest  peaks  are 
composed  of  lava,  while  the  floods  of  water  have  worn  the  frightful  canons 
which  furnish  the  bed  for  the  present  insignificant  streams.  Amid  the  very 
centre  of  so  much  ruggedness,  caused  by  nature's  greatest  forces,  Genessee  val- 
ley forms  a  beautiful  contrast,  with  its  grassy  fields  and  the  curling  smoke  of  its 
smelting  furnaces  and  other  evidences  of  the  power  of  man.  The  belt  of  copper 
ores  already  referred  to  passes  through  this  valley  in  a  course  ranging  north  twenty- 
five  degrees  west.  As  may  well  be  imagined,  in  such  a  country,  the  lode  has  been 
extensively  dislocated ;  but  by  examining  the  unshifted  bodies  of  the  containing 
slates,  which  may  be  traced  for  many  miles,  as  well  as  the  form  and  composition 
of  the  lodes,  it  is  proved  that  this  is  part  of  that  great  belt.  The  chief  copper 
mines,  the  Cosmopolitan,  are  located  about  five  miles  from  the  village  of  Tay- 
lorville,  and  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  a  ranch  which  was  originally  located 
in  the  valley  by  a  Mr.  Gifford.  They  were  discovered  in  the  beginning  of  1862. 
The  inaccessibility  of  the  place  and  the  broken  character  of  the  country  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  this  ever  becoming  a  very  important  copper  mining'  lo- 
cality. Nevertheless,  parties  interested  in  these  mines  have  erected  smelting 
works  which  have  cost  upwards  of  $30,000,  and  made  several  tons  of  good 
regulus  by  a  process  invented  by  a  farmer  named  J.  C.  Chapman,  who  never 
had  any  knowledge  or  experience  in  copper  smelting  till  the  discovery  of  these 
mines.  As  long  as  the  parties  interested  in  this  enterprise  could  obtain  plenty 
of  oxides,  carbonates,  and  silicates  of  the  metal,  which  were  quite  abundant  and 
very  rich  at  the  commencement  of  their  operations,  they  obtained  regulus  suffi- 
cient to  pay  expenses ;  but  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  sulphurets  in  the  lode 
the  works  had  to  stop,  as  they  were  not  adapted  to  operate  on  this  class  of  ores. 
At  the  present  time  they  are  not  in  operation.  These  works  were  put  up  by 
Bolinger,  Blood  &  Co. 

At  a  depth  of  sixty  feet  the  lode  on  the  Cosmopolitan  mine  was  found  to  be 
about  fourteen  feet  wide,  containing  about  ten  per  cent,  of  metal.  It  lies  be- 
tween the  granite  and  limestone  on  this  claim.  The  metamorphic  slates  and 
serpentine,  which  accompany  the  copper  all  through  this  i^tate,  are  here  a  few 
hundred  feet  to  thfe  south. 

Del  Norte  county  mines. — The  Alta  district,  in  Del  Norte  county,  is  situated 
on  what  is  known  as  the  "  low  divide,"  an  extensive  plateau  on  the  summit  of  a 
lofty  range  of  mountains  which  divide  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  river  from  the 


154  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

Pacific  ocean.  These  mountains  run  through,  the  northern  portion  of  California 
and  the  south  of  Oregon,  for  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  and  cross  the  western 
branch  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas  at  nearly  right  angles. 

Altaville,  the  centre  of  this  district,  is  about  fifteen  miles  northeast  from 
Crescent  City,  Del  Norte  county.  There  are  a  great  number  of  mines  in  the 
district ;  many  of  them  have  been  extensively  worked,  and  probably  one  thou- 
sand tons  of  good  ore  has  been  shipped  from  them  since  their  discovery,  in  1'860. 
Among  those  which  have  shipped  ore  are  the  Alta,  Union,  Pacific,  Lady  Belle, 
Chrysopolis,  Comstock,  Diamond,  Express,  Pearl,  Copper  Hill,  Excelsior,  and 
a  number  of  others.  The  Alta  was  the  first  mine  worked  in  the  district,  and  is 
the  only  one  worked  at  present. 

The  mines  in  this  district  are  not  connected  with  the  great  copper  belt  so  fre- 
quently alluded  to  in  this  report.  This  runs  several  miles  to  the  east,  where 
the  Siskiyou  mountains  connect  the  counties  of  Yreka,  in  California,  with  Jose- 
phine, in  Oregon.  The  ores  in  the  Alta  district  are  quite  distinct  in  deposition, 
appearance,  and  character  from  those  found  in  the  mines  on  the  great  belt. 
The  deposits  are  separate  and  distinct ;  of  probably  the  same  age  and  origin,  as 
they  are  similar  in  other  respects  t^  those  found  around  the  base  of  Mount 
Diablo,  and  in  the  coast  range  further  south.  The  first  forty-two  tons  of  ore 
shipped  by  the  Alta  company  averaged  forty-five  per  cent.,  and  sold  in  San  Fran- 
cisco for  $7,000  cash,  the  cost  of  their  extraction  and  delivery  not  exceeding 
$2,000.  They  were  red  oxides,  chiefly,  of  which  there  was  a  large  body  nearly 
three  feet  wide  and  fifty  feet  long,  near  the  surface,  but  this  was  soon  exhausted, 
as  there  is  no  well  defined  lode  on  the  ground.  In  fact  it  is  doubtful  whether 
there  is  a  consecutive  body  of  ore  of  fifty  feet  in  length  in  the  whole  district. 
The  croppings  of  what  are  supposed  to  be  lodes — nearly  a  dozen  of  them — are 
seen  ranging  nearly  north  and  south  for  many  miles,  but  the  body  of  ore  beneath 
these  croppings  is  so  irregular  in  position,  owing  to  the  distortion  of  the  serpen- 
tine in  which  they  are  contained,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  tell  in  what 
direction  the  average  of  them  do  lie. 

The  Alta  Company  have  sunk  a  shaft  on  their  mine  to  the  depth  of  nearly 
four  hundred  feet  without  finding  a  regularly  defined  lode.  They  meet  with 
bunches  of  ore,  chiefly  yellow  sulphurets  of  a  very  low  grade,  varying  in  size 
from  a  mere  film  to  ten  feet  thick,  but  not  sufficiently  connected  to  make  the 
mine  profitable  to  work  under  the  existing  state  of  the  copper  market.  This 
mine  is  exceedingly  well  situated  for  obtaining  its  ore  cheap,  if  a  large  body  of 
it  should  be  found,  as  drifts  could  be  run  into  the  hill  at  a  great  depth  at  com- 
paratively little  cost. 

The  Rockland  district  is  located  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  Alta  district, 
above  described,  and  about  thirty  miles  from  Crescent  City,  Del  Norte  county, 
California.  The  mines  in  this  district  are  located  on  the  great  copper  belt, 
which  may  easily  be  traced  in  the  vicinity  for  nearly -twenty  miles,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  N.  28°  W.,  the  general  trend  of  this  belt,  by  which  it  may  be  followed 
from  where  first  noticed,  north  of  Los  Angeles,  to  about  twenty-five  miles  west 
of  this  district,  which  is  a  few  miles  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Oregon. 
There  are  several  other  districts  within  this  State  in  which  important  copper 
mines  have  been  located  on  this  belt ;  but  time  will  not  admit  of  any  reference 
being  made  to  them.  The  Queen  of  Bronze,  near  Waldo,  Josephine  county, 
the  most  valuable  copper  mine  in  Oregon,  is  located  on  this  belt,  about  sixteen 
miles  west  from  this  point.  Extensive  smelting  works  have  been  erected  on 
this  latter  mine,  and  thousands  of  tons  of  ore  have  been  exported  from  these 
mines,  which,  as  has  been  already  stated,  have  been  discovered  since  1860. 

There  are  some  peculiarly  interesting  features  connected  with  the  copper 
mines  of  this  district,  which  have  a  tendency  to  throw  considerable  light  upon 
the  subject  of  the  action  of  volcanic  forces  on  metallic  ores,  because  in  this 
vicinity  an  enormous  volcanic  dyke,  nearly  one  hundred  feet  wide,  approaches 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCEY   MOUNTAINS.  155 

the  copper  belt  at  an  obtuse  angle,  witliin  a  hundred  feet,  and  it  is  within  this 
point  of  proximity  that  the  large  masses  of  metallic  copper  mentioned  above 
were  discovered.  Another  point  in  the  same  connection  may  be  here  mentioned. 
The  age  of  the  rocks  containing  the  copper,  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the 
great  belt,  has  been  tolerably  well  ascertained  to  be  between  the  triassic  and 
tertiary  eras,  and  as  this  volcanic  force,  which  has  caused  the  conversion  of  the 
ores  into  metals  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  must  ha^e  been  exerted  sub- 
sequently, the  opportunity  here  afforded  to  examine  the  largest  and  most  clearly 
denned  dyke  on  the  coast  is  very  important. 

Mount  Diablo  district. — The  principal  copper  mines  in  the  Mount  Diablo 
district  are  .located  about  the  northern  base,  and  up  the  side  of  a  spur  of  Mount 
Diablo,  called  Mount  Zion,  and  along  the  north  side  of  Mitchell's  canon,  near 
the  town  of  Clayton,  Contra  Costa  county.  The  first  discovery  of  these  mines 
was  made  in  1860,  and  considerable  work  was  done  on  several  of  them  for  about 
two  years,  in  efforts  to  discover  the  lode,  but  without  success,  as  there  is  no 
lode  in  the  mountain.  The  copper  found  here  is  not  connected  with  the  great 
cupriferous  belt,  but  exists  in  detached  bunches  and  masses,  as  is  the  case  in 
tlie  Alta  district,  in  Del  Norte  county,  described  above.  The  croppings  of  the 
patches  of  ore  here  run  north  and  south,  as  they  do  at  Del  Norte.  Some 
metallic'  copper  has  been  found  on' the  north  side  of  Mitchell's  canon,  but  in 
every  case,  after  reaching  a  few  feet  below  the  surface,  the  ore,  when  found  in 
bodies  sufficiently  large  to  take  out,  has  been  found  of  a  very  low  grade ;  ten 
tons  of  selected  ore  shipped  by  the  Keokuk  company  did  not  yield  more 
than  eight  per  cent.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  mines  in  this  district  will 
ever  pay  to  work. 

Pcavine  district. — The  Peavine  district  was  discovered  in  1864.  It  is  located 
a  few  miles  east  of  the  Henness  pass,  in  Washoe  county,  Nevada,  one  portion 
of  it  being  within  three  miles  of  the  line  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad.  The 
district  embraces  an  era  of  ten  miles  square,  in  which  there  are  a  great  number 
of  claims  of  considerable  importance.  The  ores  in  all  these  mines  are  entirely 
distinct  from  those  found  in  California,  as  well  as  the  containing  rocks.  They 
are  usually  much  contaminated  with  quartz,  but  they  contain  a  large  per  cent, 
of  gold  and  silver.  The  completion  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  to  within  a 
few  miles  of'nie  district  has  given  considerable  impetus  to  prospecting,  and  a 
great  number  of  companies  are  preparing  to  take  out  ore,  the  railroad  com- 
pany having  informed  those  interested  that  it  would  carry  ores  to  Sacramento, 
from  any  point  in  the  Henness  pass,  for  $9  per  ton.  The  ores  of  most  of  these 
mines  being  silicates,  carbonates,  and  oxides,  are  very  easily  concentrated,  a 
fact  which  the  owners  of  the  Bay  State  mine  appear  to  be  aware  of,  as  they  are 
putting  up  a  small  furnace,  on  Haskell's  plan,  to  operate  on  all  the  ores  they 
can  purchase,,  as  well  as  what  they  can  obtain  from  their  own  mine.  No  ores 
of  any  consequence  have  been  shipped  from  this  district,  in  consequence  of  the 
distance  to  a  market ;  but  in  1864  a,  Doctor  Landszwertmade  a  number  of  large 
bars  of  fine  copper  from  them,  which  were  exhibited  at  the  State  fair,  at  Carson 
City,  in  that  year.  These  bars  contained  $150  per  ton  in  gold,  and  about  $250 
per  ton  in  silver,  according  to  the  doctor's  assay. 

Lower  California  mines — Of  the  copper  mines  in  Lower  California  but  lit- 
tle of  an  authentic  character  is  known.  The  Sance  mine,  as  described  by  Mr. 
W.  Thompson,  an  old  Cornish  miner,  who  was  superintendent  of  it  for  three  or 
four  years,  is  located  near  Loretto,  a  place  in  the  province  of  Comondu,  about 
thirty  miles  from  the  coast,  where  there  is  a  good  harbor.  The  lode  is  de- 
scribed as  being  from  eight  to  ten  feet  wide,  enclosed  between  walls  of  slate  and 
granite.  It  has  been  extensively  explored  by  shafts  and  levels,  and  about  five 
hundred  tons  of  ore  have  been  shipped  to  Europe,  where  it  sold  for  about  five 
hundred  dollars  per  ton.  This  ore,  specimens  of  which  have  been  brought  to 
San  Francisco,  is  of  a  very  peculiar  character,  being  a  sort  of  talcose  gangue, 


156  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

containing  flattened  scales  of  metal  of  various  sizes,  from  several  feet  in  length 
and  breadth,  to  small  specks  like  fine  gold  dust.  Many  of  the  larger  masses  of 
this  copper  are  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  metallic  silver,  the  only  simi- 
lar combination  of  these  two  metals  found  on  this  coast,  though  the  combination 
of  metallic  copper  and  silver  is  quite  common  at  the  Lake  Superior  copper  mines. 
This  mine  has  not  been  worked  for  nearly  two  years. 

Arizona  mines.—jjpke  mines  in  Arizona,  from  which  ores  have  been  sent  to 
San  Francisco,  are  located  on  both  banks  of  Williams's  Fork  of  the  Colorado 
river,  where,  there  is  but  little  doubt,  will  very  soon  be  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant copper  mining  districts  on  this  coast.  The  existence  of  the  deposits  of 
ore  now  in  course  of  development  at  this  point  was  well  known  for  several 
years  before  the  discovery  of  the  mines  in  California.  A  quantity  of  the  ore 
from  some  of  the  mines  about  Mineral  Hill  was  sent  to  Boston,  as  early  as  1858, 
and  examined  by  Doctor  Jackson,  the  distinguished  mineralogist  of  that  city, 
who  pronounced  them  of  extraordinary  richness.  But  a  variety  of  causes, 
among  which  the  want  of  means  for  transporting  the  ore  was  the  chief,  pre- 
vented any  advantage  being  gained  by  the  discovery  till  1862  when  the  owners 
of  the  Planet  mine  shipped  about  one  hundred  tons  of  their  ore  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  it  sold  for  a  price  that  left  a  profit  of  upwards  of  $1 00  per  ton  over 
and  above  all  expenses  for  its  extraction  and  transportation,  the  land  carriage 
from  the  mine  to  the  river,  about  twenty  miles,  having  been  done  by  pack-mules. 
A  good  road  has  been  cut  to  connect  the  mines  with  the  river  since  that  time. 

There  are  nearly  fifty  good  mines  in  this  district  on  both  banks  of  the  river. 
The  Planet  is  the  most  important  on  the  south,  and  the  Mineral  Hill  on  the 
north.  The  greatest  activity  has  prevailed  among  these  mines  during  the  past 
year,  and  about  1,500  tons  of  ore  have  been  shipped  from  them  all  collectively  ; 
the  principal  shippers  being  the  Planet,  Great  Central,  Mineral  Hill,  Philadel- 
phia, Mountaineer,  Mammoth,  Copper  Hill,  and  Occidental.  Ten  times  the  quan- 
tity shipped  might  have  been  sent  had  there  been  means  for  taking  it  away.  Gen- 
tlemen just  returned  from  fehese  mines  state  that  there  are  upwards  of  1,000 
tons  of  ore  that  will  average  40  per  cent.,  now  lying  on  the  river  bank  ready 
for  shipment.  The  steamers  and  two  or  three  schooners  employed  in  the  trade 
are  wholly  inadequate  for  the  purpose. 

Some  of  the  mines  in  this  district  have  been  extensively  exp%redjby  means 
of  shafts,  tunnels  and  drifts,  and  in  nearly  every  case  the  body  of  ore  has  in- 
creased in  importance  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  devel- 
oped. The  Mineral  Hill  company  have  run  "a  tunnel  on  their  mine  for  the 
length  of  350  feet,  out  of  which,  while  cutting,  they  took  nearly  1,000  tons  of 
ore  of  an  average  of  30  per  cent.,  the  whole  work  from  the  surface  being  in 
a  body  of  ore.  The  ore  in  none  of  the  mines  in  the  district  is  found  in  a  regu- 
lar lode,  as  in  the  mines  in  California,  but  the  whole  country  appears  to  be 
formed  of  the  ores  of  iron  and  copper,  the  hills  for  miles  around  being  col- 
ored red  by  the  iron,  or  green  and  blue  in  patches  where  waters  containing  car- 
bonate of  lime  in  solution  have  percolated  through  the  copper. 

In  running  the  tunnels  and  drifts  through  this  extraordinary  material,  the 
miners  run  considerable  risk  of  injury  by  being  crushed  by  heavy  masses  of 
ore,  which,  having  been  held  in  place  by  large  quantities  of  powdery  oxide  of 
iron,  drop  out  when  they  are  undermined  in  cutting  the  drifts.  When  such 
blocks  fall  out,  in  some  cases  hundreds  of  tons  of  this  dry  powder,  which  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  iron  rust,  will  come  rushing  down  and  block  all  fur- 
ther work  till  the  opening  can  be  timbered  up. 

The  great  body  of  ores  found  in  the  district  being  black  and  red  oxides,  sil- 
icates and  carbonates,  all  of  a  character  that  admit  of  conversion  into  regulus 
by  the  application  of  heat  alone,  and  by  a  single  process,  several  of  the  compa- 
nies have  erected  extensive  smelting  works.  Martin  &  Greenman,  who  are 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  157 

largely  interested  in  the  Mineral  Hill  mines,  are  putting  up  works  that  will  cost 
nearly  $100,000  when  completed. 

Some  of  the  ore  taken  from  this  extraordinary  hill  are  so  exceedingly  rich  in 
gold,  that  a  10-stamp  battery  is  being  erected  to  crush  the  ore  and  work  it  for 
the  gold,  by  the  ordinary  processes  adopted  for  saving  gold  from  quartz  ;  the  tail- 
ings will  be  afterwards  smelted  for  the  copper  they  contain,  nearly  40  per  cent. 
.  The  gangue  rock  of  nearly  all  these  Arizona  ores  is  composed  of  spathic 
iron,  heavy  spar  and  quartz  ;  the  ores  found  in  California  "being  free  from  gangue 
rock,  though  they  are  generally  mixed  with  the  containing  slate  or  serpentine. 

Knowles  &  Lightner,  another  firm,  extensively  engaged  in  these  Arizona 
mines,  are  also  putting  up  smelting  works  on  their  ground.  The  Great  Central 
company  have  a  set  of  such  works  in  active  operation,  and  turning  out  large 
quantities  of  good  regulus  of  about  80  per  cent. 

Most  of  the  labor  done  about  these  mines  is  performed  by  natives,  Mexicans 
and  Chinamen.  Not  more  than  one-fourth  ef  the  workmen  are  Americans  or 
Europeans. 

Aubery  City  is  located  on  the  north  side  of  .the  fork,  and  would  soon  become 
quite  an  important  place  of  business  if  sufficient  tonnage  could  be  obtained  to 
carry  away  the  ore  that  could  be  furnished  by  the  mines  in  its  neighborhood. 

3.— THE  GEOLOGICAL  FORMATIONS  IN  WHICH  COPPER  IS  FOUND. 

Peculiarities  of  formations. — There  are  peculiarities  about  the  geological  for- 
mations in  which  the  copper  ores  are  found  on  this  coast,  which  derive  an  inter- 
est from  the  great  extent  of  country  over  which  they  can  be  traced.  "For  in 
stance :  Not  a  single  important  body  of  such  ore  has  been  found  on  this  coast, 
either  among  the  coast  range,  the  foot-hills,  or  among  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  ex- 
cept in  the  immediate  vicinity,  if  not  actually  in  serpentine  or  other  magnesian 
rocks  or  matamorphised  slates.  This  is  the  case  in  all  the  districts  above  de- 
scribed, the  only  exception  being  at  Hope  valley,  Amador  county.  For  the 
hundreds  of  miles  over  which  the  great  belt  of  copper  ores  can  be  traced,  it  is 
never  found  except  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  rocks,  and  invariably  without 
any  gangue  rock,  except  this  containing  slate  or  serpentine.  This  great  belt  of 
copper  ore  is  never  formed  except  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  auriferous 
slates  and  quartz.  As  has  already  been  mentioned,  all  the  copper  found  on  this 
coast  contains  a  large  per  cent,  of  gold,  and  many  of  the  most  important  aurif- 
erous quartz  lodes  contain  a  considerable  per  cent,  of  copper  ore.  In  some  sec- 
tions of  the  State  the  gold  itself  is  so  much  alloyed  with  copper  that  it  is  not 
more  than  half  as  valuable  as  that  obtained  from  other  sections.  The  numerous 
fossils  that  have  been  discovered  in  both  the  auriferous  slates  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  great  copper  belt,  prove  that  both  formations  belong  to  the  same  geologi- 
cal era.  It  may  therefore  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  same  causes  which 
produced  the  one,  at  the  same  time  produced  the  other.  The  nature  of  these 
causes  has  not  been  sufficiently  studied  to  be  of  any  practical  use ;  though  the 
subject  involves  many  important  practical  and  scientific  points,  such  as  the 
compilation  of  facts  and  the  observations  of  practical  men  in  the  department 
you  have  just  inaugurated  may  throw  .much  light  upon. 

The  costs  of  working  tlie  copper  mines. — The  cost  of  working  the  copper 
mines  on  this  coast  is,  under  the  present  system,  a  great  impediment  to  the 
development  of  this  source  of  national  wealth.  Expenses  of.  copper  mining  are 
much  influenced  by  three  conditions  :  the  convenience  of  the  mine  to  the  market 
for  its  product,  the  kind  of  labor  employed,  and  the  position  of  the  mine  in 
reference  to  facilities  for  working  it. 

The  mines  at  Copperopolis,  which  are  most  favorably  located  with  reference 
to  the  convenience  for  sending  their  ores  to  market,  pay,  on  an  average,  about 
$8  per  ton  to  carry  their  ore  from  the  mine  to  the  ship  which  carries  it  to  the 


158  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

furnaces,  about  $15  per  ton  as  freight  charges  by  these  ships,  and  about  $4  per 
ton  for  bags  in  which  to  carry  it;  or  $27  per  ton  for  carrying  the  ore  to  the 
nearest  market,  a  sum  riearly  equal  to  the  average  value  of  all  the  copper  ores 
obtained  from  the  mines  in  England  and  the  continent  of  Europe.  Such  mines 
as  are  located  further  inland,  or  in  localities  removed  from  main  travelled  thorough- 
fares, have  to  meet  additional  costs  for  transportation. 

This  expensive  transportation  compels  a  closer  examination  of  the  ore  than 
would  otherwise  be  necessary,  and  this  work  has  all  to  be  done  by  hand,  in 
order  to  select  only  such  of  it  as  may  be  sufficiently  rich  to  warrant  the  expense, 
requiring  considerable  skill  on  the  part  of  the  laborers  employed.  This  opera- 
tion costs,  at  a  very  low  estimate,  $1  per  ton  for  such  ore  as  may  be  selected, 
and  causes  a  waste,  in  some  classes  of  ore,  amounting  to  ten  per  cent,  by  mixing 
the  crumbled  rich  ore  among  the  slate  and  refuse,  which  is  thrown  on  the  dump 
pile,  for  want  of  already  means  for  its  separation. 

The  costs  for  bags  alone,  unavoidable  under  the  present  system,  has  been  the 
cause  of  the  stoppage  of  the  work  on  several  good  mines.  These  bags  are  aii 
enormous  tax  on  the  copper  resources  of  this  coast.  There  are  no  means,  under 
this  system,  of  avoiding  this  expense,  as  shipowners  will  not  carry  the  ore  to 
New  York  or  Boston  unless  it  is  in  bags.  Occasionally,  a  cargo  of  one  grade 
ore  has  been  shipped  to  Swansea  in  bulk ;  but  as  it  is  very  rarely  that  an  entire 
cargo  belongs  to  one  party,  or  is  of  one  grade,  it  is  very  rarely  that  this  method 
of  shipment  is  adopted.  These  bags  are  scarcely  ever  returned,  and  conse- 
quently are  nearly  a  total  loss.  Meader  &  Co.,  who  are  largely  connected  with 
the  shipping  busiuess,  secure  the  return  of  a  small  portion  of  their  bags,  but  as 
they  have  undergone  the  wear  and  tear  of  a  six  months'  voyage  round  the  Horn 
in  a  damp  hold  of  a  ship,  and  been  subjected  to  the  rough  handling  in  scores  of 
movings,  they  are  of  comparatively  small  value  when  returned. 

The  class  of  laborers  employed,  and  the  wages  paid  for  their  services,  are 
another  material  condition  greatly  influencing  the  costs  of  copper  mining  on  this 
coast.  The  average  wages  of  copper  miners,  American  or  European,  in  Cali- 
fornia, except  at  Copperopolis,  is  about  $3  per  day.  The  Keystone  and  Union, 
the  two  largest  companies  at  that  place,  pay  $2  60  per  day  to  all  their  laborers, 
whether  they  work  above  or  below  ground.  Other  companies  in  the  valley  pay 
$3  per  day  for  drifters,  and  $2  50  per  day  for  all  other  laborers.  Many  of  the  com- 
panies in  other  portions  of  the  State  employ  Chinamen  almost  exclusively  for 
all  work  done  above  ground,  who  work  for  $1  per  diem.  As  these  Chinamen, 
under  proper  supervision,  do  as  much  work,  and  as  well  as  any  other  class  of 
laborers,  it  follows  that  those  companies  that  employ  them  effect  an  important 
saving  of  expense.  The  owners  of  the  Copperopolis  mines  have  not  introduced 
this  class  of  labor  in  that  locality  lest  it  might  create  disturbances  among  the 
miners,  of  whom  there  are  about  eight  hundred  in  the  valley.  These  men,  as  is 
usual  with  their  class,  have  an  intense  hatred  to  the  Chinese,  a  feeling  which  is 
not  by  any  means  allayed  by  the  knowledge  that  their  presence  and  employment 
would  insure  a  reduction  in  the  rate  of  wages.  It  is  quite  probable  the  intro- 
duction of  Chinamen  to  work  on  these  mines  would  create  considerable  disturb- 
ance. But  it  is  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  proprietors  of  mines  costing  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  the  returns  on  which  depend  on  the  economy  with  which  they 
are  worked,  will  be  deterred  from  availing  themselves  of  the  services  of  the 
cheapest  labor  in  the  market,  through  fear  of  the  acts  of  any  class  of  citizens. 
It  being  so  much  to  the  interest  of  the  State  that  every  facility  should  be 
afforded  to  those  engaged  in  developing  its  mineral  resources,  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  individuals  or  combinations  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  cheap 
labor  for  that  purpose  would  be  severely  punished. 

The  mines  in  Oregon  and  in  the  northern  portion  of  California  pay  from  $2 
to  83  per  day  for  laborers. 

At  the  mines  in  Arizona  most  of  the  work  is  done  by  Mexicans,  who  are 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  159 

satisfied  with  about  $30  per  month  and  a  certain  quantity  of  provisions  There 
are  a  good  many  Chinese  employed  at  these  mines,  who  are  paid  $30  per  month 
and  board  themselves.  The  Americans  and  Europeans  employed  are  paid  from 
$50  to  60  per  month  in  addition  to  their  board. 

The  position  of  the  mine,  the  facilities  it  possesses  for  working,  is  another  im- 
portant condition  connected  with  the  costs.  Mines  located  in  the  lower  level  of 
broad  valleys,  such  as  those  at  Copperopolis,  where  they  have  to  hoist  every- 
thing taken  out  of  the  mine  and  to  lower  everything  put  into  it  by  machinery, 
and  to  pump  the  seepage  water  of  an  extensive  district  from  a  sump-'hole  five  hun- 
dred feet  in  depth,  labor  under  the  greatest  possible  disadvantage.  The  costs  of 
engines,  their  wear  and  tear,  and  the  expense  of  their  superintendence  and  re- 
pair, imposes  a  cost  of  more  than  $5  per  ton  on  all  the  ores  extracted  from  these 
mines.  It  is  a  fair  estimate  to  calculate  that  every  ton  of  ore  taken  from  the 
Union  and  Keystone  mines  costs  $16  per  ton  as  it  reaches  J£p  surface.  This 
calculation  includes  the  division  of  all  the  expenses  attending  the  conduct  of 
the  business  of  the  mine  by  the  quantity  of  ore  actually  shipped.  These  figures, 
explaining  the  costs  of  working  the  copper  mines  when  compared  with  those 
showing  the  value  of  their  products,  show  why  so  many  good  mines  have  stopped 
work  during  the  past  year. 

The  present  price  of  fifteen  per  cent,  ore  at  Swansea  and  New  York  is  less 
than  $50  per  ton.  To  obtain  this  it  costs  the  mines  at  Copperopolis — 

For  extraction  from  the  mine , $16 

Freight  to  San  Francisco .' 8 

Freight  to  Swansea  or  New  York 15 

Bags 4 

Sorting 1 

Total..  44 


This  does  not  include  any  allowance  for  loss  by  broken  bags  or  carelessness 
in  handling  after  shipment,  or  expenses  for  commissions,  &c.  It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  not  one-half  of  the  ore  extracted  from  these  mines  will  average 
fifteen  per  cent.  It  is  known  that  Meader,  Lalor  &  Co.  have  shipped  thousands 
of  tons  of  ore  which  did  not  exceed  twelve  per  cant.  These  Copperopolis  mines, 
exporting  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  ore,  furnisn  unmistakable  data  on  which  to 
base  a  calculation  of  the  very  slight  margin  of  profits  that  arise  from  copper 
mining  on  this  coast  as  at  present  conducted. 

There  are  some  mines,  such  as  La  Victoire,  in  Mariposa  county,  and  those  in 
some  of  the  northern  counties  and  in  Oregon,  in  which  the  costs  of  extraction 
of  the  ore  does  not  exceed  $4  per  ton,  as  they  are  worked  by  tunnels  and  re- 
quire no  hoisting  or  pumping.  But  the  cost  of  transportation  is  much  greater 
from  all  these  mines  than  it  is  from  Copperopolis,  and  the  quantity  of  fifteen-per- 
cent, ore  costs  more  for  selecting.  The  quantity  of  carbonates,  silicates,  and 
oxides  obtainable  in  any  locality  in  California  and  Oregon  is  so  unimportant 
as  not  to  come  within  range  of  calculations  concerning  the  costs  of  regular 
mining. 

It  cannot  be  possible  that  this  present  condition  of  affairs  connected  with  the 
copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  vcoast  is  without  remedy,  as  the  annexed  table 
will  show.  The  mines  on  this  coast  within  five  years  of  their  discovery,  in  spite 
of  every  disadvantage  of  inexperience  in  the  work  of.  their  development  and 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  their  ores,  have  exported  nearly  eighty  thou- 
sand tons  of  ore,  valued  at  the  very  lowest  estimate  at  upwards  of  $5,000,000  A 
national  source  of  wealth  so  productive  in  its  infancy  will  not  be  left  to  die  of 
inanition  for  want  of  the  fostering  care  of  the  general  government.  As  will  be 
explained  anon,  to  smelt  the  ores  on  this  coast,  with  the  present  price  of  fuel 


160  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

and  the  metal  when  made,  would  be  but  a  partial  and  temporary  remedy,  the 
£nal  success  of  which  is  involved  in  doubt.  The  recommendation  of  the  chair- 
man of  the  national  revenue  commission  on  this  very  point  explains  the  only 
effectual  plan  that  will  secure  the  extended  development  of  the  copper  resources 
of  this  •  coast.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  commissioner's  recommendation 
referred  to  :  "  The  commission  therefore  recommend  that  all  excise  duties  on 
domestic  copper  be  repealed  ;  and  that  the  duties  on  imported  copper  ores  and 
copper  be  advanced  to  a  moderate  extent,  or  sufficient  to  relieve  the  copper 
m.ning  interests  of  the  United  States  from  the  depressing  effects  of  the  internal 
taxes  upon  their  supplies,  and  to  give  to  it  as  good  a  -standing  in  our  own  mar- 
kets, with  reference  to  foreign  competition,  as  they  had  before  the  present  taxes 
were  imposed." 

4.-REDUCTION  OF  ORES. 

Processes  in  use  for  smelting  and  concentrating  the  ores. — Numerous  plans  have 
been  proposed  and  tested  for  the  purpose  of  smelting  and  concentrating  the  cop- 
per ores  found  on  this  coast,  none  of  which,  for  causes  to  be  stated,  have  been 
entirely  successful,  though  several  of  them  have  been  partially  so.  A  detailed 
description  of  all  these  various  processes,  and  of  the  furnaces  and  apparatus 
used,  while  it  might  be  both  interesting  and  instructive,  would  be  out  of  place 
in  this  report.  Most  of  these  plans  which  have  been  tested,  on  the  large  scale, 
have  possessed  some  novel  principle,  which  might  be  of  advantage  if  employed 
in  combination  with  old  established  processes,  by  those  who  possess  the  neces- 
sary skill,  experience,  and  judgment  to  admit  innovations  upon  systems  under 
which  they  may  have  been  educated.  This  seeming  digression  is  intended  to 
explain  the  principal  cause  of  the  failure  of  some  of  the  most  costly  works  that 
have  been  erected  for  the  purposes  to  which  this  portion  of  the  report  refers.  In 
not  a  few  cases,  those  having  charge  of  these  works  appeared  to  labor  under 
the  impression  that  it  was  so  absolutely  necessary  to  follow  the  old  patterns  in- 
troduced from  their  native  land,  that  some  German,  French,  and  Cornish  opera- 
tives seemed  to  attribute  their  failure  to  the  fact  that  the  laborers  employed, 
and  the  materials  used,  did  not  understand  the  German,  French,  or  Cornish 
language. 

Early  in  1862,  works  of  an  experimental  character  were  erected  at  Antioch, 
on  the  banks  of  the  San  Joaquin  river,  near  the  base  of  Mount  Diablo,  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  adaptability  of  the  coal  obtained  in  that  vicinity,  for 
smelling  purposes;  many  persons,  supposed  to  be  authorities  on  the  subject, 
expressing  the  opinion  that  such  coal  was  unsuited  for  the  purpose. 

These  works  were  erected  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Thomas  Price,  an  ex- 
perienced Welsh  copper  miner,  who  has  for  several  years  been  acting  as  agent  for 
the  Swansea  smelters*  for  the  purchase  of  copper  ores  on  this  coast — a  gentle- 
man of  considerable  scientific  attainments  and  a  first-class  practical  chemist  and 
metallurgist.  It  may  be  proper  to  state  further,  that  this  gentleman,  whose 
opinions  on  this  subject  of  fuel  should  have  much  weight,  is  also  professor  of 
chemistry  at  the  most  famous  college  on  this  coast,  and  superintendent  at  the 
assaying  and  refining  works  of  Kellogg,  Hueston  &  Co.,  the  most  extensive 
private  establishment  in  that  business  in  the  United  States. 

These  works  put  up  by  this  gentleman  at  Antioch  consisted  of  a  reverberatory 
furnace  and  roasting  kiln,  built  on  the  plan  of  those  in  use  at  Swansea,  but  on 
somewhat  smaller  scale,  and  with  a  slight  change  in  the  form  of  the  grate,  to 
adapt  it  to  the  fuel.  The  furnace  has  a  base  of  thirteen  feet  six  inches  long,  by 
nine  feet  four  inches  wide,  with  a  chimney-stack,  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
sufficient  draft  and  carrying  off  the  fumes,  sixty  rfive  feet  high.  All  these  works 
were  built  of  the  best  available  materials. 

As  stated  above,  this  furnace  was  built  as  an  experiment,  chiefly  to  test  the 


WEST   OF   THE   KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  161 

adaptability  of  the  Mount  Diablo  coal  for  smelting  purposes — to  ascertain  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  heat  it  generates. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  enter  into  any  extended  details  of  the 
nature  of  this  coal ;  but  it  may  be  necessary,  to  make  the  subject  plain  to  those 
who  have  never  paid  any  attention  to  the  study  of  such  matters,  to  state  that 
in  a  reverberatory  furnace  the  fire  in  its  passage  up  the  chimney  strikes  the 
roof,  and  is  forced  down  upon  the  ore  by  means  of  a  "  bridge,"  built  between 
it  and  the  burning  fuel.  In  all  flames,  no  matter  how  generated,  there  is  one 
portion  more  intensely  hot  than  the  others.  This  is  called  the  "  reducing  flame" 
because  of  its  action  in  reducing  ores,  under  certain  conditions,  into  metals.  All 
coals,  do  not  produce  a  flamo  of  the  same  nature  or  length,  and  the  operation  of 
the  reverberatory  furnace  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  upon  its  being  so  con- 
structed that  the  "  bridge  "  is  placed  so  that  the  reducing  portion  of  the  flame 
is  caused  to  strike  the  ore  at  the  proper  point. 

After  this  explanation  it  will  not  require  any  technical  or  scientific  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  combustion  to  understand  that  a  furnace  to  use  fuel, 
which  burns  with  a  short  flame  and  little  smoke,  requires  great  modifications  in 
its  construction  when  it  is  to  be  used  to  burn  fuel  which  produces  a  long  flame 
and  much  smoke.  The  experiments  at  Antioch  settled  this  point  clearly,  if  not 
satisfactorily,  to  those  interested,  and  proves,  for  general  information,  that  fur- 
naces built  on  the  plan  of  those  used  at  Swansea,  in  which  the  short-flamed 
Welsh  coal  is  used,  are  not  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  long-flamed  coals  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  But  the  question  whether  this  long-flamed  coal  could  not  be 
used  for  smelting  purposes,  in  a  suitably  constructed  furnace,  remains  still  un- 
settled Mr.  Price  states  this  Mount  Diablo  coal  could  be  economically  used 
for  that  purpose  in  a  properly  constructed  furnace,  but  thinks  no  attempt  should 
be  made  to  proceed  any  further  than  in  the  conversion  of  the  ores  into  regulus. 
The  price  of  all  descriptions  of  coal  being  so  much  higher  on  this  coast  than  a 
better  article  can  be  obtained  in  other  countries,  the  refining  of  the  metal  can  be 
more  profitably  done  in  those  countries. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  company,  which  expended  nearly  $50,000 
in  making  these  experiments  at  Antioch,  did  not  carry  them  out  to  a  full  con- 
clusion, by  permitting  Mr.  Price  to  make  such  changes  in  the  form  of  the  fur- 
nace as  his  skill  and  experience  inay  have  suggested.  But  in  California,  where 
money  commands  from  18  to  24  per  cent,  interest,  such  experiments  are  not 
considered  profitable. 

The  first  bar  of  metal  from  the  Antioch  smelting  works  was  received  at  San 
Francisco  on  the  14th  of  September,  1863,  and  created  almost  as  much  interest 
as  the  first  bar  of  bullion  from  Washoe.  During  the  time  these  works  were  in 
operation  they  produced  about  200  tons  of  matt,  or  regulus,  of  an  average  of 
about  50  per  cent.,  the  balance  being  iron,  sulphur,  silica,  &c.  This  was  obtained 
from  about  2,000  tons  of  ores  from  various  parts  of  the  State,  but  chiefly  from  Cop- 
peropolis,  of  an  average  of  about  10  per  cent.,  which  the  company  advertised  to 
purchase  at  the  following  prices  : 

7J  per  cent $15  per  ton  of  2,376  pounds. 

9    per  cent 17  per  ton  of  2,376  pounds. 

10  '  per  cent :. 19  per  ton  of  2,376  pounds. 

11  per  cent 21  per  ton  of  2,376  pounds. 

12  per  cent 25  per  ton  of  2,376  pounds. 

None  were  accepted  below  7j  per  cent. 

The  coal  used  in  the  operations  cost  about  $7  per  ton  delivered  on  the  grounds 
of  the  company.  One  ton  of  thia  coal,  it  was  estimated,  would  reduce  two  tons 
of  ore,  after  the  furnace  had  become  thoroughly  heated ;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  good  materials  for  lining  it  the  furnace  was  not 
kept  steadily  heated.  The  best  imported  fire-bricks,  in  consequence  of  the  ac- 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 11 


162  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

tion  of  the  sulphur  in  the  ore,  would  not  endure  more  than  about  fifteen  days. 
Work  had  consequently  to  be  stopped  within  that  period,  and  everything  cooled 
off,  in  order  to  re-line  the  furnace.  This  entailed  a  great  loss  in  the  cost  of  fuel 
and  labor,  as  well  as  of  metal,  and  as  the  works  were  only  calculated  to  opeiv 
ate  on  about  eight  tons  of  ore  in  twenty-four  hours,  these  stoppages  absorbed 
all  the  profits. 

A  Mr.  Henry  Davis,  another  practical  Welsh  copper  smelter,  who  had  been  in 
charge  of  an  extensive  smelting  establishment  in  Chili  previous*  to  his  arrival  on 
this  coast,  has  made  a  number  of  experiments  at  the  works  at  Antioch  since 
they  were  closed  by  the  original  owners.  This  gentleman  also  expresses  the 
opinion  that  the  Mount  Diablo  coal,  used  in  a  properly  constructed  furnace, 
oculd  be  profitably  employed  in  the  reduction  to  regulus  of  such  ores  as  will  not 
pay  to  ship  in  bulk. 

The  smelting  works  erected  at  the  Union  mine,  at  Copperopolis,  are  on  a  more 
extended  scale  than  those  at  Antioch.  They  cost  nearly  $75,000,  and  consist  of 
two  cupola  blast  furnaces,  and  other  buildings,  which  were  erected  under  the 
superintendence  of  M.  Desermeaux,  a  French  engineer,  on  the  plans  introduced 
on  this  coast  by  M.  D'Heirry,  a  very  skilful  French  metallurgist,  who  has 
erected  similar  works  on  the  Queen  of  Bronze  mine,  in  Oregon.  The  whole  estab-  • 
lishment  consists  of  four  large  kilns  for  roasting  the  ores  to  deprive  them  of  a  portion 
of  their  sulphur,  two  large  blast  furnaces  on  the  most  approved  German  plan,  with 
a  powerful  blast  set  in  motion  by  a  20-horse  power  steam  engine.  The  kilns  are 
each  capable  of  roasting  500  tons  of  oie  at  a  batch,  which  required  from  7  to  12 
weeks  to  burn,  according  to  the  weather  and  the  care  taken  in  laying  them. 
After  burning  in  these  kilns  the  ore  was  placed  in  the  blast  furnaces,  which  are 
capable  of  operating  on  eight  tons  of  such  materials,  each,  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  only  flux  used  in  any  of  the  operations  was  a  portion  of  the  slag  from  pre- 
vious meltings,  or  silica  in  the  form  of  quartz.  The  ore  came  from  the  furnaces, 
after  the  first  operation  in  them,  in  the  form  of  two  qualities  of  regulus,  the  one 
containing  about  80  per  cent,  of  copper,  the  other  about  40  per  cent.  This 
regulus  was  afterwards  broken  up  and  re-melted  three  or  four  times,  in  order  to 
deprive  it  of  all  the  sulphur,  and  to  oxidize  the  iron  as  much  as  possible.  No 
attempts  were  made  to  refine  this  matt  into  tough  copper.  The  costs  for  fuel  in 
these  operations  were  exceedingly  heavy,  as  charcoal,  costing  from  37  to  50 
cents  per  bushel,  had  to  be  used  This,  together  with  the  necessity  for  hand- 
ling the  materials  so  many  times  by  expensive  and  unskilful  laborers,  rendered 
the  operations  so  unprofitable  that  the  works  were  discontinued  after  a  few 
months'  trial — not  before  some  5,000  tons  of  ores,  averaging  about  8  per  cent., 
had  been  converted  into  regulus,  which  sold  from  $200  to  $250  per  ton,  show- 
ing that  these  waste  ores  may  be  rendered  valuable  if  they  can  be  operated 
upon  by  some  cheap  process. 

The  smelting  works  at  the  Cosmopolitan  mine,  at  Genesee  valley,  Plumas 
county,  cost  about  $30,000.  These  are  constructed  on  the  plan  described  by 
Piggott,  in  his  work  on  copper,  somewhat  modified  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Chapman,  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  mine,  under  whose  directions  the  works  were  built. 
The  blast  here  is  generated  by  two  double-action  piston  bellows,  four  feet  in 
diameter,  set  in  motion  by  a  large  water-wheel.  No  ores  have  been  operated 
on  at  this  place  except  oxides,  carbonates  and  silicates,  and  as  long  as  plenty  of 
such  ores  were  attainable,  this  company  was  able  to  obtain  respectable 
quantities  of  good  matt  and  inferior  copper ;  but  when  the  supply  ceased,  they 
had  to  close  up  their  establishment,  as  it  was  not  adapted  to  operate  on  sul- 
phurets. 

At  these  works  the  molten  materials  were  not  drawn  off  into  rough  bars  and 
reinelted,  as  at  Copperopolis,  but  they  were  run  into  a  sort  of  cauldron  built  in 
front  of  the  furnace,  in  which  they  were  kept  sufficiently  liquid  to  allow  the 
copper  to  fall  to  the  bottom  by  its  superior  specific  gravity ;  and  as  the  slag, 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  163 

being  the  lightest,  floated  on  the  surface  and  cooled  'quickest,  it  was  scraped 
off  and  thrown  away;  the  copper,  on  cooling,  readily  separating  from  the  reg- 
ulus  which  was  allowed  to  cool  above  it.  The  latter  was  remelted  and  the 
former  was  ready  for  market.  The  fuel  used  at  these  works  was  pine  wood 
charcoal,  costing  about  thirty-seven  cents  per  bushel. 

Other  smelting  works,  of  a  novel  and  very  economical  and  useful  character,  have 
been  erected  on  the  La  Victoire  mine,  at  Hunter's  valley,  Mariposa  county  ;  at 
the  Buchanan  mine,  in  Merced  county;  at  the  Campo  Seco  mine,  in  Calaveras 
county,  and  at  several  other  mines  in  various  portions  of  the  coast,  on  a  plan 
introduced  by  Mr.  Nathaniel  Haskell,  a  California  mechanic,  and  called  by  him 
the  "  water-lined  cupola  furnace."  These  furnaces  are  capable  of  reducing 
twenty  tons  of  oxides,  carbonates,  or  silicates  to  good  regulus  in  twenty -four 
hours. 

The  peculiar  feature  of  this  useful  invention  is  a  "  water  lining/'  which  may 
be  described  by  stating  that  the  cupola  consists  of  two  parts,  one  within  the 
other,  like  the  divisions  of  an  onion.  These  parts  are  formed  of  stout  iron  boiler 
plates,  strongly  riveted  at  the  joints.  Between  the  two  there  is  a  space  of 
about  six  inches  ;  this  is.  kept  constantly  filled  with  cool1  water,  by  means  of  a 
tank  above.  This  cool  water  saves  an  immense  quantity  of  heat  that  would 
otherwise  be  lost  by  radiation,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  affects  a  correspond- 
ing saving  in  fuel.  No  fire  bricks  are  used  in  these  furnaces,  which,  besides 
being  a  great  saving  in  the  consumption  of  this  costly  article,  affects  an  addi- 
tional saving  by  requiring  no  time,  labor,  or  heat  to  be  lost  in  replacing  these 
bricks  every  few  days,  as  they  become  destroyed  by  the  heat.  A  very  power- 
ful and  even  blast  is  kept  up  in  these  furnaces  by  a  large  cylinder  bellows,  set 
in  motion  by  a  small  steam-engine.  One  of  these  furnaces,  used  at  the  Bu- 
chanan mine,  has  produced  upwards  of  100  tons  of  good  marketable  copper  during 
the  past  year,  which  has  sold  at  San  Francisco  for  from  $300  to  $320  per  ton  of 
2,000  pounds.  That  at  the  La  Victoire  mine,  has  only  recently  been  put  into 
operation,  but  is  producing  80  per  cent,  of  regulus  at  the  rate  of  24  tons  per  week. 

It  may  be  quite  proper  to  state  that  these  furnaces  are  not  adapted  to  operate 
on  ores  containing  a  very  large  proportion  of  sulphur,  unless  they  have  been 
thoroughly  calcined,  and  are  combined  wilh  a  large  proportion  of  other  ores  or 
suitable  flux.  The  sulphur  has  a  very  damaging  effect  on  the  iron  of  the  cupola 
when  both  are  heated  to  the  necessary  temperature  to  melt  the  ore. 

These  furnaces  will  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  owners  of  mines  containing  large 
bodies  of  oxides,  silicates,  and  carbonates,  which*  are  of  too  poor  a  quality  to 
ship  to  market  in  bulk.  They  are  very  cheap  and  portable,  the  cupola,  blast, 
engine,  and  boiler  only  costing  about  $3,000,  and  all  combined  only  weighing 
about  five  tons. 

In  1862  a  lady,  a  Mrs.  Hall,  invented  a  novel  description  of  furnace  for 
smelting  copper  ores,  by  means  of  jets  of  superheated  steam  being  passed  into 
the  cupola  during  the  time  the  fuel  and  ore  were  in  an  incandescent  state.  To 
the  cupola  of  this  furnace  was  attached  an  apparatus  for  condensing  the  fumes, 
previous  to  their  passage  into  the  chimney.  This  invention  was  very  much 
lauded  at  the  time  by  Colonel  Charles  Harazthy,  in  a  letter  published  over  his 
own  name  in  the  papers  at  San  Francisco. 

The  concentrating  works  erected  by  the  proprietors  of  the  Keystone  mine  at 
Copperopolis  are  on  the  principle  adopted  by  some  of  the  large  copper  mining 
establishments  in  Cornwall,  England.  The  ores  in  these  works  are  operated 
upon  by  water.  The  object  sought  to  be  obtained  is  the  separation  of  the 
gangue  rock  by  means  of  the  difference  in  the  specific  gravity  and  hardness  in 
it  and  the  ores.  There  are  conditions  in  which  this  process  is  quite  simple, 
cheap,  and  effective.  It  is  so  where  the  ore  is  contained  in  a  silicious  gangue, 
or  in  hard  spar,  in  a  locality  where  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  free  water, 
constantly  running,  and  where  there  are  plenty  of  cheap  laborers  to  be  had 


164  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

who  understand  the  details  of  the  operations.  But  a§  none  of  these  conditions 
exist  at  Oopparopolis,  the  experiment,  which  cost  about  $50,000,  if  not  an 
absolute  loss,  has  been  only  so  far  successful  as  only  to  be  of  use,  at  a  very 
heavy  expense,  during  a  few  months  in  the  winter,  when  the  rains  fill  the  com- 
pany's reservoirs.  And  then,  in  consequence  of  the  ore  being  free  from  gangue 
rock,  and  the  containing  slate,  from  which  it  is  sought  to  separate  it,  being  of 
nearly  the  same  specific  gravity  and  hardness,  it  is  not  possible  to  save  more 
than  three-fourths  of  it,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  it  is  worth. 

These  works  have  been  erected  in  the  best  manner  and  of  the  best  materials, 
under  the  directions  of  Mr.  Pawning  and  his  brother,  two  thorough,  practical 
machinists.  In  the  operation  of  these  works  the  ore  is  brought  between  two 
heavy  iron  rollers,  where  it  is  crushed  as  fine  as  possible,  and  afterwards  led, 
by  means  of  an  endless  belt,  on  to  five  "jiggers,"  or  shaking  tables,  which  are 
each  contained  in  a  large  tank  of  water.  The  motion  of  these  tables  causes  all 
the  lighter  particles  to  float  off  in  the  stream  of  water  passing  through  the  tanks 
These  fine  particles  are  collected  in  "settlers,"  dried  and  saved.  The  coarser 
grains  which  do  not  float  off  are 'retained  in  sieves  arranged  beneath  the  tables, 
and  are  returned  to  the  rollers  to  be  reduced  to  the  proper  fineness.  The  ma- 
chinery of  this  cumbrous  contrivance  is  set  in  motion  by  a  sixty-five  horse- 
power steam  engine. 

Many  other  companies  concentrate  their  ores,  to  a  slight  extent,  by  the  process 
described  in  the  description  of  the  Napoleon  mine,  given  in  another  portion  of 
this  report,  with  such  modifications  as  the  judgment  of  the  parties  carrying  on 
the  work  may  suggest,  or  the  necessities  of  the  case  may  compel. 

The  above  will  probably  not  be  considered  a  flattering  account  of  the  various 
processes  that  have  been  introduced  for  concentrating  and  smelting  the  copper 
ores  found  on  this  coast.  But  the  many  failures  therein  recorded  are  not  of  a 
character  to  discourage  so  energetic  a  people  as  those  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  want  of  success  is  in  so  many  instances  so  clearly  traceable  to  the  want  of 
skill  and  experience  on  the  part  of  the  operators  that  it  is  evident  a  plan  for  pro- 
fitably working  the  lowest  of  these  ores  will  be  devised  when  experience  shall 
have  taught  those  engaged  in  the  business  the  defects  and  advantages  of  the 
various  processes  now  in  use. 

The  few  observations  contained  in  this  division  of  the  report  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  convince  any  reasonable  person  that  the  manufacture  of  refined  copper 
on  this  coast,  with  profit,  is  an  impossibility  under  the  present  state  of  affairs. 

In  reviewing  the  above  remarks  on  these  processes,  it  will  be  observed  that 
the  furnace  erected  at  Antioch  was  erected  as  much  to  test  the  coal  as  to  smelt 
the  ore.  It  was  made  of  only  sufficient  capacity  to  operate  upon  eight  tons  of 
ore  in  twenty-four  hours.  This  was  a  serious  error  and  a  material  source  of 
loss. 

The  furnace  should  have  been  made  of  a  capacity  sufficient  to  have  operated 
upon  at  least  ten  tons.  Twelve  or  fourteen  tons  would  have  been  better,  as  it 
requires  nearly  the  same  quantity  of  fuel  and  the  same  amount  of  labor  to 
operate  upon  eight  tons  of  ore  as  it  would  to  operate  on  ten  or  twelve  tons. 

The  furnaces  at  the  copper  mines  in  Chili,  which  are  built  on  the  same  general 
plan,  and  operate  upon  ores  very  similar  to  those  found  on  this  coast;  and  use  a  fuel 
very  much  like  that  used  here,  are  constructed  of  a  capacity  to  work  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  tons  of  ore  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 

The  Chilian  copper  smelters  have  no  better  indigenous  coal  than  is  to  be 
found  on  this  coast.  They  are  compelled  to  import  the  greater  portion  of  the 
coal  used  in  their  works  from  England.  As  good  an  article,  and  at  as  low  a 
price,  may  be  obtained  here  from  Sydney,  if  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  im- 
port any  coal  at  all. 

In  California,  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  readily  available  quantities 
of  oxides,  carbonates,  and  silicate  ores,  and  the  preponderance  of  ores  contain- 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  165 

ing  a  large  percentage  of  .sulphur,  smelting  will  always  be  more  expensive  than 
it  is  where  a  different  class  of  ores  are  used,  because  it  is  necessary  to  put  such 
sulphur  ores  through  the  preliminary  process  of  roasting,  which  is  costly,  slow, 
and  sometimes  causes  much  loss.  The  object  of  this  process  is  to  expel  the 
sulphur,  arsenic,  antimony,  phosphorus,  or  other  deleterious  element  that  the 
ore  may  contain,  and  to  oxidize  the  iron  as  much  as  possible.  But  if  this  pro- 
.cess  be  carried  too  far,  or  the  ore  contains  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
sulphuret  of  iron,  or  when  the  heat  becomes  excessive,  a  fusion  takes  place, 
which  makes  the  separation  of  the  metal  from  the  sulphur  much  more  difficult. 
This  action  in  the  roasting  process  caused  the  loss  of  many  thousands  of  dollars 
to  the  proprietors  of  the  Union  mine,  by  requiring  the  regulus  produced  at  their 
smelting  works  to  be  roasted  three  or  four  times  to  expel  the  fused  sulphur 
from  it. 

With  Sydney  coal,  which  may  be  landed  at  San  Francisco  at  $9  per  ton, 
the  reduction  of  low  grade  ores  to  50  per  cent,  regulus  could  be  made  a  very 
profitable  investment  for  capital.  The  necessary  works,  if  erected  on  sufficient 
scale  to  afford  a  market  for,  say,  8  per  cent,  ores,  would  give  an  immense  im- 
petus to  the  development  of  the  copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast ;  because, 
without  some  such  market,  all  the  ores  of  that  standard  will  be  valueless  for 
many  years  to  come,  and  they  form  about  seven-eighths  of  all  the  ores  on  this 
coast. 

To  prove  that  such  works  would  yield  a  large  profit  on  the  capital  invested, 
the  following  calculation  is  here  given  : 

Costs  attending  the  conversion  of  ten  tons  of  10  per  cent,  ore  into  45  per 
cent,  regulus : 

Ten  tons  of  ore,  at  $16  per  ton $160  00 

Roasting  in  heaps,  at  $1  per  ton 10  00 

Six  tons  of  Sydney  coal,  at  $9  per  ton 54  00 

Labor  of  four  men 15  00 

Incidental  expenses 10  00 

Total  costs. .  249  00 


Per  contra  : 
Ten  tons  of  the  above  ore  produced  two*  and  three-quarter  tons  of 

regulus  of  45  per  cent.     This  is  worth  $4  per  unit,  or. $495  00 

Deduct  freight  and  expenses  attending  export 100  00 

Leaving  balance 395  00 

From  this  deduct  cost  of  ore  and  reduction 249  00 


There  is  a  clear  profit  of 146  00 


This  profit  would  be  fully  20  per  cent,  larger  if  one  thousand  tons  of  ore 
were  operated  upon. 

The  Bristol  copper  mine,  in  Connecticut,  when  under  the  management  of  Mr. 
H.  H.  Sheldon,  the  present  superintendent  of  the  Keystone  mine,  at  Copper- 
opolis,  paid  a  very  large  revenue  to  its  proprietor  from  ores  that  did  not  exceed 
3  per  cent,  in  value,  on  an  average.  Such  a  person,  after  a  reasonable  amount 
of  experience  on  this  coast,  will  certainly  be  able  to  devise  a  plan  by  which 
ores  of  three  times  that  value  may  be  worked  to  a  profit. 

Among  the  principal  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  smelting  works  tried  on  this 
coast  have  been — 

1st.  The  uniform  character  of  the  ores  operated  on. 

2d.  The  want  of  experienced  and  steady,  skilled  laborers. 

3d.  The  misconstruction  of  the  furnaces. 


166  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

At  Swansea  the  smelters  have  the  advantage  of  purchasing  ores  of  all  or 
any  classes,  as  all  are  brought  there  from  many  different  districts.  With 
this  assortment  of  ores  at  their  command,  they  can  arrange  the  charges  of  their 
furnaces  to  suit  their  fuel.  On  this  coast  there  are  no  established  means  for 
obtaining  such  a  wide  selection  of  ores  as  will  admit  of  their  being  combined  so 
as  to  be  worked  with  advantage.  Most  of  the  smelting  works  which  have  been 
tried  on  this  coast  operate  on  the  ores  from  generally  the  one  mine  on  which 
they  were  erected,  and  these  are  generally  of  one  class. 

The  furnaces  built  on  this  coast  have  generally  been  copies  of  such  as  are 
used  in  England,  Germany,  or  France,  where  fuel  of  a  totally  different  char- 
acter is  used.  The  impatience  of  the  parties  interested  in  such  works  to  obtain 
from  them  immediate  profitable  results  has  prevented  the  necessary  experiments 
being  made  to  adapt  these  imported  furnaces  to  our  local  fuel. 

No  smelting  works  have  been  carried  on  long  enough  on  this  coast  to  disci- 
pline a  sufficient  number  of  workmen  to  conduct  the  details  of  the  operations 
with  the  care  necessary  to  insure  success.  The  few  good  workmen  who  have 
come  here  from  England,  France,  or  Germany,  all  aspire  to  be  superintend- 
ents, or  to  own  a  mine  themselves,  without  possessing  the  ability  to  impart  their 
knowledge  to  the  more  intelligent  laborers  placed  under  their  direction. 

All  -these  obstacles  to  success  would  be  in  a  great  measure  removed  if  exten- 
sive works  were  to  be  erected  at  some  convenient  central  point,  where  those 
having-  ores  to  dispose  of  could  always  find  a  fair  market.  Such  works,  prop- 
erly conducted,  would  yield  a  liberal  return  on  the  money  invested  in  their 
erection,  and  would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  copper  interests  of  the 
Pacific  coast. 

The  export  of  copper  ores  from  the  Pacific  coast. — It  is  difficult  to  obtain  a 
correct  return  of  all  the  copper  ores  exported  from  this  coast,  as  the  custom-house 
authorities  have  not  kept  anything  more  than  an  approximating  account  of  such 
as  have  been  shipped  through  that  department ;  the  manifests  of  the  vessels  in 
which  it  has  been  shipped  in  many  cases  not  specifying  the  quantity  of  ore  taken, 
only  giving  its  value ;  in  some  cases  entering  it  as  so  many^packages  of  unspeci- 
fied merchandise  of  a  stated  value.  This  makes  it  difficult  to  estimate  the  quan- 
tity, because  at  the  commencement  of  this  exportation  the  ore  was  shipped  in 
barrels,  casks,  and  boxes,  some  of  which  contained  nearly  half  a  ton  each,  and 
as  the  value  of  the  ore  differs  so  much,  the  value  given,  if  correct,  would  furnish 
no  basis  for  calculating  the  quantity. 

It  is  through  this  cause  that  the  published  reports  of  the  exports  of  ore  given 
in  the  leading  commercial  papers  of  San  Francisco  at  stated  intervals  differ  so 
much  with  one  another.  The  reports  of  the  exports  for  the  nine  months  of  the 
present  year,  published  in  these  papers,  are  as  follows  : 

The  Alta,  15,174J  tons;  the  Bulletin,  15,3502  tons;  the  Commercial  Gazette, 
20,S4SJ  tons. 

There  is  considerable  discrepancy  in  these  reports,  the  Gazette  being  probably 
nearest  correct. 

The  following  list,  compiled  from  every  available  source,  gives  the  names  of 
mines  which  are  known  to  have  sent  ore  to  San  Francisco,  and  the  quantity 
purchased  from  each.  There  are  several  firms  in  that  city  which  purchase  or 
make  advances  on  copper  ores.  Among  those  most  extensively  engaged  in  this 
business  are  Meader,  Lalor  &  Co.,  Martin  &  Greenman,  Mr.  Price,  Conroy  & 
O'Conner.  None  of  these  parties  appear  disposed  to  give  information  relating 
to  their  business,  under  the  impression,  perhaps,  that  such  information  might  in 
some  way  or  other  injure  them,  and  it  was  not  through  them  directly  that  this 
list  was  made  out : 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


167 


List*of  mines  that  have  shipped  ore. 


Name  of  mine. 

Where  located. 

Quantity 
shipped. 

Copperopolis  C  alaveras  county  ...............  «  . 

Tons. 
56,  542 
5,719 
1,500 
100 
1,300 
250 
4,000 
3,  000 
1,500 
250 
25 

200 
12 
10 
100 
100 
15 
50 
26 
20 
25 
2,000 
20 
100 
75 
100 
700 
500 

do  ..do.  .  .  .  

Copper  Hill 

Near  Campo  Seco  Calaveras  county 

Copperopolis   Calaveras  county 

Lancha  Plana.   Calaveras  county......  ............. 

Gopher  hills    Calaveras  county             ........ 

Newton           -  -  ...... 

Mariposa.  county          .     .     ....................... 

Buchanan 

Regulus. 
Mariposa  county                                         ......  ...... 

Mt  I)iablo  Contra  Costa  county 

do          .  do  .  ...  

Alta 

Del  Norto  county          .           .  .................... 

Osos 

San  Luis  Obispo  county    "         .     ........ 

Los  Ansreles  county 

.do            do  

Copper  Creek  Company 

Trinity  Company 

Trinity  county                ....      ...................... 

Mariposa  county 

Del  Fino  

Lower  California,  (belongs  to  Capt.  Winder,  U.  S.  A.) 

Philadelphia 

Mountaineer 

Arizona   (belongs  to  Capt  \Vinder,  TJ.  S  A.)     ...... 

Grand  Central  
Planet  
Mineral  Hill  

do  do  ..  do  
do  do  do  
do  do  do  

A  total  of  78,239  tons,  not  including  any  shipment  from  the  Queen  of  Bronze 
or  any  of  the  mines  in  Oregon  or  Lower  California,  or  any  of  the  many  small 
lots  that  were  shipped  as  experiments  by  the  mines  worked  in  all  parts  of  Cal- 
ifornia during  the  excitement  about  copper  that  prevailed  during  the  years  1860, 
1861,  1862,  and  1863.  It  is  quite  within  limits  to  estimate  the  ores  received 
from  all  unnamed  sources  since  1860  at  1,761  tons.  This,  added  to  the  quanti- 
ties given  in  the  list  above,  makes  a  total  of  80,000  tons  received  at  San  Fran- 
cisco and  exported  since  the  discovery  of  the  mines  at  Copperopolis. 

The  following  table  giving  the  exports  of  copper  ores  from  San  Francisco 
from  January,  i860,  to  October,  1866,  compiled  from  the  rec<rfs  at  tnc  custom- 
house and  the  shipping  lists,  shows  a  difference  of  upwards  on?2,000  tons  when 
compared  with  the  list  above.  This  discrepancy  can  only  be  explained  on  the 
grounds  above  stated.  The  books  of  the  principal  mines  given  in  this  list  show 
that  the  quantities  set  opposite  their  respective  names  have  been  actually  shipped 
from  them.  The  ore  shipped  from  the  leading  mines  is  calculated  according 
to  English  weight,  2,376  pounds  to  the  ton.  Some  of  the  smaller  companies 
may  have  estimated  their  ore  by  the  United  States  weight,  or  only  2,000  pounds 
to  the  ton  ;  but  this  would  not  account  for  so  large  a  discrepancy. 


168 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 


Exports  of  copper  ores  from  San  Francisco  from  January,  1862,  to  October,  1866. 


Year. 

To  New  York. 

To  Boston. 

To  Swansea.  • 

Total  for  year. 

1862 

Tons. 
86 

Tows. 
3,  574M 

Tons. 

Tons. 
3,  660^$ 

1863  

1,337 

4,  208^ 

71% 

5,  553$$ 

]864            .                

4,  905M 

5,  064 

264^0 

10,  234,3, 

1865 

4,  146$, 

9,050 

2.  591  M 

17,787£§ 

1866              

7,  676,1  § 

3,  415& 

10,  384£$- 

21,476]$ 

Totals 

•  20,  151  A 

25,  312£$ 

13  248M 

58  712  ^ 

The  above  table  includes  concentrated  ores  and  regulus,  when  shipped  in  bags 
or  barrels,  but  not  metallic  copper  in  pigs  or  bars,  of  which  there  was  shipped 
about  25  tons  in  1865  and  3,787  ba»s,  of  unknown  weight,  in  1866.  In  this 
quantity  is  included  120  tons  from  the  smelting  works  at  Buchanan  Hollow, 
Mariposa  county,  shipped  by  Coffee  &  Risdon,  of  San  Francisco.  As  this  metal 
averages  80  per  cent.,  one  ton  of  it  is  equal  to  five  tons  of  16  per  cent.  ore.  The 
export  of  this  metal  is  consequently  equal  to  1,725  tons  of  such  ore,  making  a  total, 
when  added  to  quantity  in  the  .first  table,  of  79,964  tons — in  round  numbers, 
say  80,000  tons  ;  in  addition  to  which  there  are  upwards  of  2,000  tons  of  ores  at 
Stockton  and  San  Francisco  ready  for  shipment,  awaiting  vessels  to  carry  it 
away,  and  nearly  20,000  tons  are  ready  for  shipment  at  the  various  mines,  where 
it  is  retained  in  consequence  of  the  very  low  price  of  such  ores  in  this  market  at 
present ;  the  whole  showing  that  upwards  of  100,000  tons  of  copper  ore  have 
been  taken  out  of  the  mines  of  California  since  their  discovery  in  1860.  Esti- 
mating this  ore  at  an  average  value  of  $50  per  ton,  which  is  very  much  below 
its  actual  value,  the  products  of  these  copper  mines  since  their  discovery  have 
added  $5,000,000  to  the  material  wealth  of  the  country,  and  opened  a  wide  field  for 
the  employment  of  the  enterprise,  capital,  and  labor  of  thousands  of  its  citizens. 

A  comparison  of  the  product  of  the  copper  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast  with 
those  in  other  countries  may  be  instructive  in  this  place.  Sir  Henry  De  La 
Beche,  the  head  of  the  department  of  mines  in  England,  stated  in  a  lecture  given 
at  the  great  exhibition  in  London,  in  1861,  that  the  average  of  all  the  ores  of 
copper  produced  in  Cornwall  and  Devonshire  did  not  exceed  8  per  cent,  when 
dressed,  and  that  the  supply  was  constantly  becoming  less,  and  more  costly  to 
obtain  as  the  working  in  the  mines  became  deeper.  These  two  counties  are  the 
chief  sources  of  copper  in  all  Europe.  Here,  on  this  coast,  there  are  absolutely 
inexhaustible  sources  of  ores  ranging  from  10  per  cent,  to  12  per  cent.,  which 
may  be  obtained  within  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  of  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

In  the  parliamentary  returns  published  by  order  of  the  British  government, 
it  appears  that  iAhe  year  1861  the  gross  yield  of  copper  ores  in  Great  Britain, 
including  England,  Ireland,  and  Wales,  amounted  to  231,487  tons  of  the  value 
of  $6,800,000,  or  a  little  over  $29  per  ton.  On  this  coast,  under  the  present  sys- 
tem, ore  of  that  value  would  not  pay  to  take  it  out  of  the  ground.  As  has  already 
been  explained  it  costs  between  $40  and  $50  per  ton  to  place  the  ores  obtained 
on  this  coast  in  a  market.  The  rates  for  freight  to  New  York  and  Liverpool  are 
more  than  double  as  high  as  they  were  two  years  ago,  in  consequence  of  the 
great  demand  for  first  class  vessels  to  carry  grain  to  those  places. 

Concluding  remarks. — None  of  the  metallic  copper  made  on  this  coast  is  suit- 
able for  castings  or  for  rolling  into  sheets,  owing  to  defects  in  the  processes  for 
refining  it.  It  is  too  brittle  lor  rolling,  in  consequence  of  containing  traces  of 
sulphur.  It  is  too  hard  for  casting,  turning,  and  polishing,  and  too  liable  to 
tarnish  and  turn  nearly  black  in  color,  in  consequence  of  containing  more  or  less 
iron  in  alloy. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.,  169 

The  present  depression  in  the  copper  mining  interests  on  the  Pacific  coast 
has  been  much  increased  by  the  excessive  cost  of  freight  to  New  York  and 
Swansea,  which,  falling  at  a  time  when  the  ores  are  of  less  value  than  they  have 
been  for  the  past  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  causes  it  to  be  unprofitable  to  ship 
those  that  heretofore  have  formed  the  great  bulk  of  the  exports.  The  price  of 
freight  at  this  time  is  nearly  double  what  it  was  in  1861  and  1862.  To  illus- 
trate this  fact,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  ship  Haze,  in  1861,  was  chartered  to 
carry  a  cargo  to  New  York  for  $5,000  in  gold.  Within  the  past  few  weeks  the 
same  vessel  has  been  chartered  for  the  same  destination  for  $16,660  in  gold,  or 
$25,000  in  currency.  In  1861  freight  to  Liverpool  was  offering  at  $11  per  ton ; 
at  present  it  is  not  procurable  at  less  than  $17  per  ton. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that  an  article,  the  exports  of  which,  though 
amounting  to  two  millions  of  dollars  annually,  the  profits  of  which  are  limited 
to  such  a  slight  margin,  as  already  explained  is  the  case  with  copper  ores  on 
this  coast,  must  cease  to  be  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  government,  or  of  employ- 
ment and  profit  to  the  people,  when  the  cost  of  its  production  and  export  ex- 
ceeds the  value  of  the  product.  This  is  a  question  deserving  the  most  serious 
consideration. 

The  products  of  the  copper  mines  on  the  Pacific  coast  might  be  greatly  in- 
creased if  the  legislation  of  Congress  were  so  framed  as  to  make  them  profitable 
to  procure.  This  would  increase  the  taxable  property  of  the  country,  while  the 
products  of  the  mines,  now  far  below  their  capacity,  would  add  materially  to  its 
absolute  wealth ;  for  if  we  do  produce  our  own  copper,  it  must  be  purchased 
from  other  nations,  for  money  or  produce,  as  it  is  indispensable  in  the  arts  and 
manufactures. 

Under  our  formxof  government,  with  such  an  extent  of  territory  as  we  possess, 
and  such  an  intelligent  and  enterprising  people  as  inhabit  our  mineral  regions, 
it  should  be  a  paramount  object  so  to  regulate  the  scale  of  taxes  and  duties  on 
the  products  of  any  branch  of  national  industry  as  to  encourage  the  labor  en- 
gaged in  its  development.  A  sound  policy  would  dictate  that  so  great  an  in- 
terest as  copper  mining  is  destined  to  become  in  the  United  States  should  be 
encouraged  by  every  possible  means  in  its  infancy,  and  until  the  skill  and  ex- 
perience of  those  interested  in  its  development  shall  enable  them  to  compete 
with  a  reasonable  hope  of  success  with  the  copper  miners  and  smelters  of  other 
countries  in  which  the  business  has  been  conducted  for  centuries.  This  they 
cannot  do  at  present,  nor  ever  will  be  able  to  do,  unless  they  are  assisted  for  a 
few  years  by  favorable  legislation.  The  duties  and  taxes,  direct  and  indirect, 
on  copper,  under  the  present  system,  amount  to  $4  63  on  each  100  Ibs.  of 
American-made  metal,  while  that  imported  from  other  countries  only  pays 
$2  50  on  each  100  Ibs.  It  is  this  invidious  distinction  tkat  is  crippling  the 
energies  of  those  interested  in  developing  the  copper  resources  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  A  reversal  of  this  state  of  affairs,  the  levying  of  a  duty  of  about  $2  50 
on  each  100  Ibs.  of  foreign  copper,  over  and  above  what  is  levied  jon  our  home- 
produced  copper — a  duty  that  would  inflict  no  injury  on  any  American  interest — 
would  immediately  revive  the  now  languishing  copper  interests  of  the  whole 
country. 

Measured  by  the  facts  and  figures  contained  in  this  report,  it  requires  no  stretch 
of  the  imagination  to  comprehend  the  great  national  importance  of  the  copper  re- 
sources of  the  Pacific  coast ;  already,  within  five  years  of  their  discovery, 
exporting  sufficient  ores  of  unusual  richness  to  produce  10,000  tons  of  metal  an- 
nually—a quantity  nearly  equal  to  one-half  of  the  supply  of  the  whole  world 
twenty-five  years  ago,  and  five  times  as  large  as  the  produce  of  the  whole  United 
States  only  ten  years  ago  !  It  requires  -but  experience  and  the  advantages  it 
gives,  and  a  slight  protection  on  the  part  of  the  general  government,  to  make  the 
Pacific  coast  occupy  the  same  prominence  as  a  copper-producing  country  that  it 
now  occupies  as  the  producer  of  gold  and  silver. 


170  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

SECTION    6. 
QUICKSILVER  MINES  OF  CALIFORNIA., 

1.    New  Almaden  mines. — 3.     Products  and  exports. 

1.— NEW  ALMADEN  MINES. 

The  ore  of  quicksilver. — Cinnabar  is  the  principal  and  only  valuable  ore  of 
the  mercury  of  commerce,  which  is  prepared  from  it  by  sublimation. 

It  is  a  sulphide  (sulphuret)  of  mercury,  composed,  when  pure,  of  quicksilver 
86.2,  sulphur  13.8,  in  which  case  it  is  a  natural  vermilion,  and  identical  with 
the  vermilion  of  commerce ;  but  it  is  sometimes  rendered  impure  by  an  admix- 
ture of  clay,  bitumen,  oxide  of  iron,  &c.  Cinnabar  is  of  a  cochineal  red  color, 
often  inclining  to  brownish  red  and  lead  gray,  with  an  adamantine  lustre,  ap- 
proaching to  metallic  in  dark  varieties,  and  to  dull  in  friable  ones.  It  varies 
from  subtransparent  to  opaque,  has  a  scarlet  streak,  and  breaks  with  a  sub- 
conchoidal  uneven  fraction.  H  =  2  to  2.5,  specific  gravity  =  8.99.  In  a  matrass 
it  entirely  sublimes,  and  with  soda  yields  mercury  with  the  evolution  of  sul- 
phurous fumes.  When  crystallized  it  belongs  to  the  rhombohedral  system. 

Cinnabar  occurs  in  beds  in  slate  rocks.  The  chief  European  beds  are  at 
Almaden,  near  Cordova,  in  Spain,  and  at  Idria,  in  Upper  Carinthia,  where  it 
usually  occurs  in  a  massive  form,  and  is  worked  on  a  thick  vein  belonging  to 
the  Alpine  carboniferous  strata.  It  also  occurs  in  China,  Japan,  Pluanca  Vilica, 
in  South  Peru,  and  at  New  Almaden,  in  California,  in  a  mountain  east  of  San 
Jose,  between  the  bay  of  Francisco  and  Monterey,  where  it  is  very  abundant 
and  easy  of  access. —  lire's  Dictionary. 

Classes  of  cinnabar  ores. — Gruesa  is  the  best  quality  or  first  class,  in 
pfieces  eight  to  twelve  inches  or  more  in  diameter ;  mostly  pure  ore  of  cinnabar,  with 
little  or  no  admixture  of  refuse  rock. 

Grauza  is  the  second  quality,  in  pieces  of  three  to  eight  inches,  generally 
containing  a  considerable  proportion  of  rock.  It  is  either  taken  from  the  mine 
in  such  pieces  or  is  broken  off  from  larger  pieces  of  rock  in  the  yard. 

Tierras — earth  or  dirt — is  the  lowest  quality,  and  is  not  taken  into  account 
in  the  ores  produced  at  the  mine ;  neither  are  the  miners  paid  for  it.  It  is  made 
into  bricks  and  sun-dried  previous  to  being  reduced  in  the  furnaces.  Each 
adobe  or  brick  weighs  about  twelve  and  a  half  pounds. 

The  "carga"  or  load  of  ore  is  considered  to  be  three  hundred  pounds. 


Extracts  of  a  report  by  Professor  B.  Si/liman,  jr.,  from  ihe  American  Journal 
of  Science  and  Arts  for  September,  1864. 

The  New  Almaden  quicksilver  mines  are  situated  on  a  range  of  hills  subor- 
dinate to  the  main  Coast  range,  the  highest  point  of  which  at  the  place  is  twelve 
to  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  valley  of  San  Jose.  Southwest  of  the  range 
which  contains  the  quicksilver  mines,  the  Coast  range  attains  a  considerable 
elevation,  Mount  Bache,  its  highest  point,  being  over  thirty-eight  hundred  feet 
in  height. 

New  Almaden  is  approached  by  the  railroad  running  from  San  Francisco  to 
San  Jose,  a  distance  of  forty-five  miles.  In  the  course  of  it  there  is  a  rise  of  one 
hundred  feet,  San  Jose  being  of  this  elevation  above  the  ocean.  From  San 
Jose  to  New  Almaden  the  distance  is  thirteen  miles,  with  a  gradual  rise  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  perhaps  two  hundred  feet. 

The  rocks  forming  the  subordinate  range,  in  which  the  quicksilver  occurs, 
are  chiefly  magnesian  schists,  sometimes  calcareous  and  rarely  argillaceous.  As 
a  group  they  may  be  distinguished  as  steatitic,  often  passing  into  well-charac- 
terized serpentine.  Their  geological  age  is  not  very  definitely  ascertained,  but 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  171 

they  are  believed  by  the  officers  of  the  State  geological  survey  to  be  not  older 
than  cretaceous.  But  few  fragments  of  fossils,  and  these  very  obscure,  have 
yet  been  found  in  these  metamorphic  rocks.  At  a  point  just  above  the  dumps, 
behind  the  reduction  works  at  the  hacienda  (or  village,)  there  is  an  exposure, 
in  which  may  be  clearly  seen  in  projecting  lines  the  waving  edges  of  contorted  beds 
of  steatite  and  serpentine,  interspersed  with  ochrey  or  ferruginous  layers,  more 
easily  decomposed ;  and  the  partial  removal  of  the  latter  has  left  the  steatitic 
beds  very  prominent. 

The  mine  is  open  at  various  points  upon  this  subordinate  range  over  a  dis- 
tance of  four  or  lire  miles,  in  a  northeast  direction.  The  principal  and  the 
earliest  workings  of  the  mine  were  in  a  right  line,  but  little  more  than  a  mile 
distant  from  the  hacienda.  The  workings  are  approached,  however,  by  a  well- 
graded  wagon  road,  skirting  the  edges  of  the  hills,  which  is  two  and  three 
eighths  miles  in  length. 

It  appears,  partly  from  tradition,  and  partly  from  the  memory  of  persons  now 
living,  that  the  existence  of  cinnabar  upon  the  hill  was  known  for  a  long  time 
prior  to  the  discovery  that- it  possessed  any  economic  value.  In  fact,  upon  the 
very  loftiest  summit  of  this  subordinate  range,  cinnabar  came  to  the  surface,  and 
could  be  obtained  by  a  slight  excavation  or  even  by  breaking  the  rocks  lying 
upon  the  surface.  In  looking  about  for  physical  evidences  such  as  would  aid 
the  eyes  of  an  experienced  observer  in  detecting  here  the  probable  presence  of 
valuable  metallic  deposits,  one  observes  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  at  various 
points  along  the  line  of  its  axis  for  two  or  three  miles,  and  also  beyond,  toward 
the  place  called  Bull  Run,  occasional  loose  boulders  of  drusy  quartz,  with  more 
or  less  well- characterized  geodes  and  combs ;  accompanying  which  is  an 
ochraceous  or  ferruginous  deposit,  such  as  frequently  forms  the  outcrop  of 
metallic  veins.  There  is,  however,  no  such  thing  as  a  well-characterized  vein, 
the  quartz  and  its  associated  metals  occurring  rather  in  isolated  masses  or 
bunches  segregated  out  of  the  general  mass  of  the  metamorphic  rocks,  and  con- 
nected with  each  other,  if  at  all,  somewhat  obscurely  by  thread  veins  of  the  same 
mineral. 

The  main  entrance  to  the  mine  at  present  is  by  a  level  about  eight  hundred 
feet  long,  and  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  full-sized  railroad  and  cars.  This 
level  enters  the  hill  about  three  hundred  feet  from  its  summit,  and  is  driven  into  a 
large  chamber,  formed  by  the  removal  of  a  great  mass  of  cinnabar,  leaving 
ample  space  for  the  hoisting  and  ventilating  apparatus  employed  in  working 
the  mine. 

At  this  point  a  vertical  shaft  descends  to  an  additional  depth  of  nearly  three 
hundred  feet,  over  which  is  placed  a  steam  "  whim"  with  friction  gearing  and  wire 
rope,  worked  by  a  steam-engine,  and  by  means  of  which  all  the  ore  from  the 
various  workings  of  the  mine  is  conveniently  discharged  from  the  cars,  which 
convey  it  out  of  the  level.to  the  dressing  floors. 

In  order  to  reach  the  lower  workings  of  the  mine,  the  observer  may  employ 
the  bucket  as  a  means  of  descent,  or  he  may,  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner, 
descend  by  a  series  of  ladders  and  step,  not  in  the  shaft,  but  placed  in  various 
large  and  irregular  openings,  dipping  for  the  most  part  in  the  direction  of  the 
magnetic  north,  and  at  an  angle  of  thirty  to  thirty-five  degrees.  These  cavities 
have  been  produced  by  the  miner  in  extracting  the  metal,  and  are  often  of  vast 
proportions ;  one  of  them  measures  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length, 
seventy  feet  in  breadth,  and  forty  feet  in  height  ;  others  are  of  smaller  dim©n~ 
sions  ;  and  they  communicate  with  each  other  sometimes  by  narrow  passages, 
and  at  others  by  arched  galleries  cut  through  the  unproductive  serpentine. 

Some  portions  of  the  mine  are  heavily  timbered  to  sustain  the  roof  from 
crushing,  while  in  other  places  arches  or  columns  are  left  in  the  rock  for  the 
same  purpose. 

The  principal  minerals  associated  with  the  cinnabar  are  quartz  and  calcareous 


172  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

spar,  which  usually  occur  together  in  sheets  or  strings,  and  in  a  majority  of  cases 
penetrate  or  subdivide  the  masses  of  cinnabar.  Sometimes  narrow  threads  of 
these  minerals,  accompanied  by  a  minute  coloration  of  cinnabar,  serve  as  the 
only  guide  to  the  miner  in  re-discovering  the  metal  when  it  has  been  lost  in  a 
former  working. 

Veins  or  plates  of  white  massive  magnesian  rock  and  sheets  of  yellow  ochre 
also  accompany  the  metal.  Iron  pyrites  is  rarely  found,  and  no  mispickel  was 
detected  in  any  portion  of  the  mine ;  running  mercury  is  also  rarely,  almost 
never,  seen. 

The  cinnabar  occurs  chiefly  in  two  forms,  a  massive  and  a  sub-crystalline. 
The  first  is  fine  granular,  or  pulverulent,  soft,  and  easily  reduced  to  the  condi- 
tion of  vermillion;  the  other  is  hard,  more  distinctly  crystalline,  compact  and 
difficult  to  break;  but  in 'neither  of  these  forms  does  it  show  any  tendency  to 
develop  well-formed  crystals.  It  is  occasionally  seen  veining  the  substance  of 
greenish  white  or  brown  compact  steatite  or  serpentine. 

The  ores  are  extracted  by  contract,  the  miners  receiving  a  price  dependent 
upon  the  greater  or  less-  facility  with  which  the  ore  can  be  broken.  By  far  the 
larger  portion  of  the  v/ork-people  in  the  mines  are  Mexicans,  who  are  found 
to  be  more  adventurous  than  Cornishmen,  and  willing  oftentimes  to  undertake 
jobs  which  the  latter  have  abandoned.  The  price  paid  for  the  harder  ores  in 
the  poorer  portions  of  the  mine  is  from  three  to  five  dollars  per  carga  of  three 
hundred  pounds.  This  weight  is  obtained  after  the  ore  is  brought  to  the  sur- 
face and  freed  by  hand  breaking  from  the  superfluous  or  unproductive  rock ;  by 
this  arrangement,  the  company  are  secured  from  paying  for  anything  but  pro- 
ductive mineral.  All  the  small  stuff  and  dirt  formed  by  the  working  of  the 
"  labors,"  are  also  sent  to  the  surface  to  form  the  adobes  used  in  charging  the 
furnaces. 

It  has  often  happened  in  the  history  of  this  mine,  during  the  past  fifteen 
years,  that  the  mine  for  a  time  has  appeared  to  be  completely  exhausted  of  ore. 
Such  a  condition  of  things  has,  however,  always  proved  to  be  but  temporary, 
and  may  always  be  avoided  by  well-directed  and  energetic  exploration.  Upon 
projecting,  by  a  careful  survey,  irregular  and  apparently  disconnected  chambers 
of  the  mine  in  its  former  workings  in  a  section,  there  is  easily  seen  to  be  a 
general  conformity  in  the  line  of  direction  and  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  pro- 
ductive ore-masses.  These  are  found  to  dip  in  a  direction  toward  the  north,  in 
a  plain  parallel,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  pitch  of  the  hill,  but  at  a  somewhat 
higher  angle.  An  intelligent  comprehension  of  this  general  mode  of  structure 
has  always  served  hitherto  in  guiding  the  mining  superintendent  in  the  discovery 
of  new  deposits  of  ore. 

Since  the  settlement  of  the  famous  lawsuit,  which  has  so  long  held  this  com- 
pany in  a  condition  of  doubt,  the  new  parties,  into  whose  hands  the  property 
has  now  passed,  have  commenced  a  series  of  energetic  and  well-directed  ex- 
plorations at  various  points  upon  the  hill,  with  a  view...  to  the  discovery  of  ad- 
ditional deposits  of  ore.  At  one  of  these  new  openings,  distant  at  least  five 
hundred  feet  from  the  limit  of  the  old  workings,  and  not  more  than  two  hundred 
feet  from  the  summit  of  the  hill,  a  deposit  of  the  richest  description  of  the  softer 
kind  of  cinnabar  has  been  discovered,  which,  so  far  as  hitherto  explored,  has  a 
linear  extent  of  at  least  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  and  in  point  of  richness  has 
never  been  -surpassed  by  any  similar  discovery  in  the  past  history  of  the  mine. 
A  charge  of  one  hundred  and  one  thousand  pounds,  of  which  seventy  thousand 
were  composed  of  this  rich  ore,  thirty-one  thousand  pounds  of  "granza"  or 
ordinary  ore,  and  forty-eight  thousand  pounds  of  adobes,  worth  four  per  cent., 
making  a  total  charge  of  one  hundred  and  five  thousand  eight  hundred  pounds, 
yielded,  on  the  day  of  our  visit,  four  hundred  and  sixty  flasks  of  mercury  at 
seventy-six  and  a  half  pounds  to  the  flask.  This  yield  is  almost  without 
parallel  in  the  history  of  the  mine.  The  only  preparation  which  the  ores  un- 


'WEST    OF   THE    EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  173 

dergo,  preparatory  to  reduction,  consists  of  hand  breaking  or  "cobbing"  for 
the  removal  of  the  unproductive  rock. 

The  small  ores  and  dirt  hoisted  from  the  mine  are  made  into  "  adobes  "  or 
sun-dried  bricks,  sufficient  clay  for  the  purpose  being  associated  with  the  ore. 
The  object  of  these  "adobes"  is  to  build  up  the  mouths  of  the  furnaces  to  sus- 
tain the  load  of  richer  ores.  No  flux  is  employed,  there  being  sufficient  lime 
associated  with  the  ores  to  aid  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphurets. 
...  The  furnaces  are  built  entirely  of  brick,  in  dimensions  capable  of  holding 
from  sixty  thousand  to  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  pounds,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  ores  employed.  The  chambers  are  fired  from  a  lateral  furnace, 
fed  with  wood,  and  separated  from  the  ore  by  a  wall  pierced  with  numerous 
openings  by  the  omission  of  bricks  for  that  purpose. 

Connected  with  the  furnace  is  a  series  of  lofty  and  capacious  chambers,  afeo 
of  masonry,  through  which  the  whole  product  of  combustion  is  compelled  to 
pass  alternately  above  and  below  from  chamber  to  chamber,  until  all  the  available 
mercury  is  condensed.  The  draught  from  these  furnaces  is  carried  by  inclined 
stacks  up  to  the  top  of  a  lofty  hill  several  hundred  feet  distant ;  and  here  the 
sulphurous  acid  and  other  effete  products  of  the  furnace  are  discharged.  Formerly 
no  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  the  escape  of  mercury  through  the  foun- 
dations of  the  furnace  to  the  earth  beneath ;  now  the  furnaces  stand  upon  double 
arches  of  brickwork,  and  plates  of  iron  are  built  into  the  foundations,  so  as  to 
cut- off  entirely  all  descending  particles  of  the  metal  and  turn  them  inward. 
To  be  convinced  of  the  importance  of  this  precaution,  it  is  sufficient  to  watch 
the  operation  of  the  furnace  for  a  few  moments,  when  an  intermittent  stream 
may  be  seen  to  flow  into  a  reservoir  provided  for  it,  and  which  by  the  former 
process  was  completely  lost  in  the  earth. 

On  taking  up  the  foundations  of  some  of  the  old  furnaces,  within  the  last  two 
years,  the  metal  was  found  to  have  penetrated,  or  rather  permeated,  completely 
through  the  foundation  and  clay  of  the  substructure  down  to  the  bed-rock  be- 
neath, a  depth  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet.  Over  two  thousand 
flasks  of  mercury  were  thus  recovered  in  a  single  year  from  the  foundations  of 
the  two  furnaces.  This  loss  is  entirely  avoided  by  the  improved  construction 
which  has  been  adopted. 

The  whole  process  of  reduction  is  extremely  simple,  the  time  occupied  from 
one  charge  to  another  being  usually  about  seven  days.  The  metal  begins  to 
run  in  from  four  to  six  hours  after,  the  fires  are  lighted,  and  in  about  sixty  hours 
the  process  is  completed.  The  metal  is  conducted  through  various  condensing 
chambers,  by  means  of  pipes  of  iron,  to  a  "  crane-neck,"  which  discharges  into 
capacious  kettles.  It  undergoes  no  further  preparation  for  market,  being  quite 
clean  from  all  dross. 

Property  of  the  company. — The  landed  estate  of  the  Quicksilver  Mining  Com- 
pany consists,  therefore,  of  seven  thousand  eight  hundred  acres,  or  a  fraction 
over  twelve  square  miles,  of  which  more  than  one-third  is  mineral  ground,  tra- 
versed by  veins  of  cinnabar  which  have  been  traced  for  miles  and  tested  in  more 
than  a  dozen  places,  and  of  which  the  celebrated  New  Almaden  mine,  which 
has  produced,  prior  to  its  possession  by  this  company,  more  than  fifty  thousand 
tons  of  ore,  yielding  about  twenty-four  million  pounds  of  quicksilver,  is  but  a 
single  development. 

The  permanent  improvements  upon  the  property  of  the  company  consist  of—- 
Dwelling-houses, workshops,  and  stores  at  the  hacienda 61 

Dwelling-houses,  workshops,  and  stores  at  New  Almaden  mine 276 

Dwelling-houses,  workshops,  and  stores  at  Enriqueta  mine 55 

Dwelling-houses  on  the  farms -  -  -     13 

Total.. 405 


174 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


The  buildings  cost  over  $160,000. 

There  are  six  furnaces  at  the  Hacienda,  costing  about  $100,000. 

The  railway  from  the  mouth  of  the  New  Almaden  mine  to  the  furnaces,  one 
and  one-quarter  mile  in  length,  was  completed  in  December  last,  and  cost  about 
$12.000. 

The  population  located  upon  the  lands  of  the  company,  and  nearly  all  in  it3 
employ,  are  as  follows  : 

|  At  the  Hacienda 286 

jAt  New  Almaden  village 1,  396 

jAt  Enriqueta  village 176 

{On  the  farms 85 

Total .    1,943 


The  inventory  of  personal  property  at  the  several  mines,  exclusive  of  ores  on 
hand,  amounts  to  the  sum  of  $113,876. 

2.— PRODUCTS  AND  EXPORTS. 
Produce  of  quicksilver  at  New  Almaden,  from  July  1, 1850,  to  August  31,  1863. 


1/3 

« 

Dates. 

1 

a 

S 
3 

1 

1 

£ 

a 

6 

S 

£ 

0> 

s 

| 

CO 

C3 

3 

ft 

0 

£ 

PM 

^ 

H 

Pounds. 

Flasks. 

Flasks. 

Flasks. 

July,  1850,  to  June,  1851.. 

12 

4,970,717 

35.89 

23,  875 

23,  875 

July,  1851,  to  June,  1852. 

12 

4,  643,  290 

32  17 

19,921 

19  921 

July,  1852,  to  June,  1853.. 

12 

4,  839,  520 

27.94 

18,035 

19,035 

July,  1853,  to  June,  1854.. 

12 

7,  448,  000 

26.49 

26,  325 

26,  325 

Julv,  1854,  to  June,  1855 

12 

9,  109,  300 

26  23 

31  860 

31  860 

July,  1855  to  June  1856 

12 

10  355  200 

20  34 

28  183 

28  183 

July,  1856,  to  June,  1857.. 

12 

10,  299,  900 

18.93 

26,  002 

26,  002 

July,  1857,  to  June,  1858.. 

12 

10,  997,  170 

20.  05 

29,  347 

29,  347 

July,  1858  toOct     1858 

4 

3  873  085 

20  05 

10  588 

10  588 

Nov.  1858  to  Jan    1861 

Mine 

closed 

tion 

Feb.  ,  1861",  to  Jan.  ,  1862  .  . 

12 

13,  323,  200 

18.21 

32,  402 

2,363 

34,  765 

Feb.,  1862,  to  Jan.,  1863.. 

12 

15,281,400 

19.  27 

39,  262 

1,  129 

40,  391 

Feb.,  1863,  to  Aug.,  1863.. 

7 

7,  172,  660 

18.11 

17,  316 

2,248 

19,  564 

Total  

10  yrs  #nd 

102  313  442 

302  916 

5  740 

308  756 

llmos. 

General  average  from  furnaces  22.20  per  cent.     Produce  of  quicksilver  23, 519, 834  pounds. 

NOTE. — By  the  terms  of  the  compromise  with  Messrs.  Barren  &  Co,,  in  August,  1863, 
the  New  Almaden  mine  was  to  be  held  and  worked  by  them  for  the  benefit  of  this,  the  Quick- 
silver Company,  during  the  months  of  September  and  October,  and  the  company  was  to  as- 
sume the  entire  control  on  the  1  st  of  November. 

During  these  two  months  the  product  was  as  follows :  September,  2,371  flasks  ;  October, 
3,149  ;  total  product,  5,520,  or  422,280  pounds. 


WEST    OF  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


175 


Tabular  statement  showing  llie   'product  of  all  the  furnaces  from   November, 
1863,  to  December,  1864,  inclusive. 


Months. 


Total  quantity  of  ore  reduced. 


Graeso.         Granza.         Tierras 


5*38 

H<<_     02 

"O    0.2     . 


Total  quicksilver. 


I 
Flasks.      Pounds. 


Nov.,  3863.. 
Dec.,  1863.. 
Jan.,  1864.. 
Feb.,  1864.. 
Mar., '1864.. 
April,  1864.. 
May,  1864.. 
June,  1864.. 
July,  1864.. 
Aug.,  1864.. 
Sept.,  1864,. 
Oct.,  1864.. 
Nov.,  1864.. 
Dec,,  1864.. 

Totals... 


13 

18 
19 
16 
20 
17 
21 
25 
28 
28 
28 
31 
34 
34 


16, 200 

38, 600 

27, 000 
4,500 

46, 100 
259, 500 
174, 700 

38, 800 
160, 800 
161,600 
115,700 
133,800 
'45, 400 

93, 000 


628, 100 

958, 400 

432, 800 

, 042, 800 

,318,500 

, 012, 900 

,155,300 

, 567, 200 

, 838, 500 

, 806, 600 

,841,300 

, 828, 600 

2,115,500 

2,018,700 


347, 200 

371,800 
302, 800 
166,400 
172, 600 
189, 400 
272, 500 
312, 700 
288,100 
273, 600 
273, 200 
286, 400 
326, 200 
424, 000 


999, 500 
1,369,000 
1,462,600 
1,213,700 
1,607,200 
1,389,800 
1,604,500 
1,918,500 
2, 287, 400 
2,231,800 
2, 230, 700 
2,314,300 
2,488,100 
2, 535, 700 


1,604 
2,436 
2,381 
1,979 
3,443 
3, 252 
3,022 
3,  377 
4,801 
4,674 
3,947 
4,004 
3,511 
3,775 


120,  300 
182,700 
178, 575 
148,425 
358, 975 
243, 900 
226, 650 
253, 275 
360, 075 
350, 550 
296, 025 
300, 300 
263, 385 
283, 125 


332      1,314,200 


20, 326, 000 


4, 005, 900 


25, 646, 100 


46,216 


3,566,200 


Total  product  from  furnaces 46,216  flasks. 

Total  product  from  washings ^ 720  flasks. 

Total , 46, 936  flasks. 

Average  per  cent,  of  all  ore  reduced,  tierras  deducted,  16.49. 

Tabular  statement  showing  the  gross  product  monthly  for  1865. 

Flasks.  Pounds. 

January „ 3,  768  288,  252 

February 3,  512  268,  668 

March *3,  427  262, 165J 

April 4,  050  309,  825 

May 4,  501  344,  326J 

June 3, 961  303, 016£ 

July 3,  671  280,  831 

August 4,  470  341,  955 

September 4,  598  351,  747 

October 3,  010  230,  265 

November 3,  839  293,  683 

December 4,  271  326,  731 

47,  078  3,  604,  465J 

Product  from  washings 116 

47, 194 


[From  official  report  of  Mr.  Bond,  the  vice-president,  for  1665.] 

J  "  The  quantity  of  ore  mined  and  reduced  was  31,948,400  pounds,  or  about 
16,000  tons,  and  the  general  average  of  all  the  ore  reduced,  allowing  3  per  cent, 
for  tierras,  was  12.43  per  cent. 

"  It  will  be  noticed  that  while  the  production  of  quicksilver  during  1865  has 
been  in  excess  of  any  previous  year,  yet  it  has  not  increased  in  proportion  to 


176 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES. 


the  increased  quantity  of  ore  mined.  The  average  percentage  of  1864,  as 
shown  by  the  last  year's  report,  was  16.40  per  cent.,  and  for  the  ten  years  pre- 
ceding was  22.20  per  cent." 


Tabular  statement  showing  the  gross  product  monthly  for  1866. 


January . . 
February  . 
March  ... 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October  . . 


Flasks. 
3,950 
3,703 
3,043 
1,  000 
2,900 
2,100 
3,  173 
3,180 
3,  190 
3,190 


Total 30,  029 


Comparative  statement  of  quicksilver  exported  from  California  to  various  coun- 
tries from  1859  to  1864. 


To— 

1859. 

1860. 

1861. 

1862. 

1863. 

1864. 

New  York          ..  ..  

Flasks. 
250 

'Flasks. 
400 

Flasks. 

600 

Flasks. 
2,265 

Flasks. 
95 

Flasks. 
1,695 

Great  Britain 

2,  500 

1,500 

1,062 

1,609 

Mexico        ....  ................. 

103 

3,  886 

12,061 

14,778 

11,590 

7,483 

Ohi&B 

1,068 

2,  725 

13,  788 

8,725 

8,889 

18,  908 

Peru            

571 

750 

2,804 

3,439 

3,376 

4,300 

Chili                                   

930 

1,040 

2,059 

1,746 

500 

2,674 

Central  America 

110 

40 

40 

30 

Japan 

50 

25 

262 

Australia 

325 

100 

1,850 

800 

300 

103 

133 

130 

57 

424 

120 

45 

Victoria,  V.I     

19 

327 

116 

5 

42 

21 

Total  

3,399 

9,448 

35,  995 

33,747 

26,  014 

36,918 

And  the  exports  previously  have  been — 

Flasks. 

Inl858 24,142 

In  1857 27,262 

In  1856 23,740 


Flasks. 

In  1855 , 27,165 

In  1854 20,963 

In  1853 18,800 


Exports  to  January  1,  1866. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1865,  the  company  had  under  consignment 
and  on  hand  20,396  flasks  of  quicksilver,  in  addition  to  the  quantity,  7,396 
flasks,  consigned  through  Messrs.  Alsop  &  Co.,  which  was  distributed  as  fol- 
lows : 

Consigned  to  China 7 

Consigned  to  Mexico .}. 4 

Consigned  to  Peru 1,  000 

Consigned  to  Chili 600 

Consigned  to  New  York 1,  200 

Consigned  to  London » 1,  600 


000 
250 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  177 

Consigned  to  Oregon 30 

Consigned  to  Australia 100 

On  hand  in  Nevada 1,  854 

On  hand  in  California 2,  762 

Total  flasks ,20,  396 


The  product  for  1865  has  been  distributed  as  follows  : 

Consigned  to  China 14,  250 

Consigned  to  London 10,  400 

Consigned  to  Peru -  5,  500 

Consigned  to  Chili 2,  000 

Consigned  to  New  York 6,  800 

Consigned  to  Mexico. *. 2,  650 

Consigned  to  Australia 200 

Consigned  to  Oregon 280 

On  hand  in  Nevada 4,  64 1 

On  hand  in  California 473 

Total  flasks..                                                                         .  47,194 


Total  number  of  flasks  to  be  accounted  for . 67,  590 


The  number  of  flasks  sold  from  these  consignments  during  the  year,  and 
accounts  therefore  closed  and  settled,  were  19.756,  as  follows : 

Sold  in  China 4,  000 

Sold  in  New  York 4,  500 

Sold  in  Mexico 450 

Sold  in  Australia 100 

Sold  in  London. 1,  600 

Sold  in  Peru 1,  000 

Sold  in  Nevada 6,  495 

Sold  in  Colifornia 1,  350 

Sold  in  Oregon 261 

Total  flasks  . .  .19,  756 


Flasks  remaining  on  hand  January  1,  1866,  and  to  be  accounted  for..  47,  834 

This  quicksilver  was  distributed  as  follows : 

Consigned  to  China 17,  250 

Consigned  to  Mexico 6,  450 

Consigned  to  New  York 3,  500 

Consigned  to  London , 10,  400 

Consigned  to  Chili 2,  600 

Consigned  to  Peru 5.  500 

Consigned  to  Australia 200 

Consigned  to  Oregon 49 

On  hand  in  California 1>  885 

Total  flasks 47,  834 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 12 


178  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

The  quantity  consigned  through  Messrs.  Alsop  &  Co.,  on  hand  January  1, 
18G5,  7,396  flasks,  has  been  sold,  making  the  total  sales  for  account  of  the  com- 
pany, during  the  year  1865,  27,152  flasks. 

The  foregoing  statement  includes  only  the  shipments  and  sales  of  quicksilver 
which  have  been  closed  and  finally  settled.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the  com- 
pany have  received  advices  of  the  sales  in  China  and  London  of  about  10,000 
flasks. 

Products  of  other  quicksilver  mines  in  California  during  the  year  1S66. 

Guadalupe,  average  flasks  per  month 150 

New  Idria,  average  flasks  per  month. 500 

Knox  &  Redington,  average  flasks  per  month 300 


SECTION  7.  s 
BORAX,  SULPHUR,  TIN,  AND  COAL. 

1.  Principal  borax  countries. — 2.  Manufactured  borax. — 3.  Discovery  of  borax  in  Califor- 
nia.— 4.  Product  of  borax  in  California. — 5.  Process  of  working. — 6.  Deposits  of  sul- 
phur.—7.  Tin.— 8.  Coal.— 9.  Iron. 


1.— PRINCIPAL  PLACES  WHERE  BORAX  IS  FOUND. 

Prior  to  the  discovery  of  borax  in  California,  the  principal  localities  in  which 
.the  borates  were  found  were  at  Halberstadt,  in  Transylvania,  at  Viquentizoa 
and  Escapa,  in  Peru,  in  the  mineral  springs  of  Chambly,  St.  Ours,  &c.,  Canada 
West,  and  in  certain  salt  lakes  of  India,  Thibet,  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  whence 
the  greater  part  of  the  borax  of  commerce  was  formerly  obtained. 

*  "  The  salt  separated  from  these  waters  by  evaporation,  either  natural  or 
assisted  by  artificial  contrivances,  is  sent  to  Europe  as  crude  borax  or  tincal, 
sometimes  in  large  regular  crystals,  but  more  frequently  as  a  white  or  yellowish 
white  mass,  which  is  very  impure,  containing  lime,  magnesia,  and  alumina,  and 
likewise  covered  over  with  a  greasy  substance,  (said  to  be  added  to  diminish  the 
risk  of  breakage  during  transport.)  According  to  analysis  by  Kichardson  and 
Bronell,  crude  Indian  borax  contains  : 

Boric  acid,  (anhydrous) 22.88  40.24  24.41 

Soda ' . . : 12  .59  11.11  1 1  .71 

Chloride  of  sodium 0  .92  0.11  0  .21 

Sulphate  of  sodium 0.13  0.49  2.84 

Sulphate  of  calcium 1  .36  .68  1  .36 

Insoluble  matter 17.62  1.37  20.02 

Water 44.50  46.00  39.45 

300.00     100.00     100.00 

2.— MANUFACTURE  OF  BORAX. 

"  The  purification  or  refining  of  this  crude  Asiatic  borax  has  been  carried  on 
from  very  early  times  in  various  seaport  towns  in  Europe,  especially  at  Venice, 

and  more  lately  at  Amsterdam." 

*  *  *  *  §       *  * 

*  Dictionary  of  Chemistry,  by  Henry  Watts,  vol.  1,  p.  646. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  179 

"  The  greater  part  of  the  borax  used  in  the  arts  is  now*  prepared  in  France 
by  treating  the  native  boric  acid  of  Tuscany  with  carbonate  of  sodium,  according 
to  a  method  first  practiced  by  Payen  and  Cartier." 

3.— DISCOVERY  OF  BORAX  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  report  by  Dr.  John  A.  Veatch,  dated  June  28, 
1857,  give  a  succinct  and  very  interesting  history  of  the  discovery  of  borax  in 
California : 

"  Since  the  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  boracic  acid  and  the  borates  in 
California  in  quantities  sufficient  for  commercial  purposes,  a  history  of  the  dis- 
covery and  a  description  of  some  of  the  more  important  localities  of  these  useful 
products  become  matters  of  some  interest. 

"  I  believe  I  was  the  first  to  detect  the  borates  in  mineral  waters  in  this  State, 
and  perhaps,  as  yet,  the  only  observer  of  their  localities.  My  attention  was 
first  drawn  to  this  subject  by  noticing  crystals  of  bi-borate  of  soda  in  the  arti- 
ficially concentrated  water  of  a  mineral  spring  which  I  chanced  at  the  time  to 
be  examining  for  other  matters.  This  water  was  from  one  of  the  several  springs 
since  known  as  the  Tuscan  springs,  and  which  have  gained  some  fame,  and 
very  justly,  I  believe,  as  medicinal  waters.  The  spot  has  been  described  by  Dr. 
Trask  under  the  name  of  the  Lick  Springs,  and  is  so  designated  on  Britton  and 
Key's  late  map ;  lying  on  the  north  part  of  Tehama  county,  eight  miles  east  of 
Red  bluff.  The  crystals  alluded  to  were  observed  on  the  8th  day  of  January, 
1856.  Several  pounds  were  subsequently  extracted  by  evaporating  the  water 
to  a  certain  degree  of  concentration  and  allowing  the  borax  to  crystallize.  The 
pioneer  specimens  of  this  product  were  deposited  in  the  museum  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  as  an  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  new 
and  important  link  in  the  chain  of  our  mineralogical  productions,  showing  that 
along  with  the  rich  productions  of  the  noble  and  useful  metals,  we  have  also  the 
mineral  substance  so  essential  to  their  easy  application  to  the  purposes  of  man, 

"  The  water,  holding  in  solution  so  valuable  a  product,  was  thought  worthy  of 
a  critical  analysis ;  and  consequently  at  an  early  period  the  aid  of  a  chemist  of 
this  city  was  invoked.  The  reported  result,  which  I  placed  at  the  disposition 
of  Dr.  Trask,  was  thought  worthy  of  a  place  in  his  geological  report  of  that 
year,  and  appears  in  it.  My  mind  being  now  alive  to  the  subject,  I  learned,  upon 
inquiry,  of  other  localities  whjch  I  supposed  might  yield  the  borates.  One  of 
these,  near  the  mouth  of  Pitt  river,  forty  miles  north  of  the  Tuscan  springs,  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  in  company  with  Dr.  Wm.  0.  Ayres,  in  April,  1856. 
Specimens  there  'obtained  yielded  the  borate  salts ;  and,  from  a  subsequent  exr 
amination  of  the  intermediate  country,  several  similar  localities  were  found. 
The  quantity  was  too  small  to  be  of  any  practical  importance,  but  the  prevalence 
of  the  salt  gave  encouragement  to  further  search.  A  reconnoissance  of  the 
"coast  range"  of  mountains,  from  the  neighborhood  of  Shasta  over  a  length  of 
some  thirty  miles  towards  the  south,  brought  to  light  borates  in  the  numerous 
small  springs  abounding  in  that  region,  but  only  in  minute  quantities.  These 
springs  were  found  almost  exclusively  in  the  sandstone,  or  in  the  magnesian 
limestone  overlaying  it ;  and  the  borates  seemed  to  abound  in  localities  bearing" « 
indications  of  volcanic  disturbance.  Thus  a  kind  of  guide  was  obtained  in  the 
prosecution  of  further  explorations.  I  began  to  entertain  hopes  of  finding 
streams  with  stronger  impregnations,  or  accumulations,  of  the  borates  in  salt 
lagoons  said  to  exist  in  Colusi  county,  where  the  sandstone  formation  was  largely 
developed,  the  adjacent  foot-hills  presenting  volcanic  features.  Hunters  told 
tales  of  mineral  springs  of  sulphurous  and  bitter  waters ;  of  lakes  of  soda,  and 
alkaline  plains,  white  with  efflorescent  matters,  in  that  region.  Not  being  in  a 

*  Prior  to  the  discovery  of  borax  in  California. 


180  .       RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

situation  immediately  to  visit  those  inviting  localities,  I  had,  for  the  time,  to 
content  myself  with  pointing  out  to  the  hunters  and  others  occasionally  passing 
through  that  country  such  appearances  as  I  wished  particularly  to  be  noted. 
Their  reports,  together  with  specimens  sometimes  furnished,  were  all  corrobora- 
tive of  the  correctness  of  my  theory.  Colonel  Joel  Lewis,  of  Sacramento  City, 
who  occasionally  visited  the  coast  range  on  hunting  excursions,  and  to  whom 
I  explained  the  object  of  my  search,  and  who,  although  not  a  scientific  man, 
is  an  intelligent  observer,  had  the  kindness  to  look,  in  his  peregrinations,  for 
certain  indications.  He  subsequently  informed  me  by  letter  that  he  had  met 
with  an  Irishman,  living  in  Bear  valley,  who  had  found  a  'lake  of  borax,'  as 
it  was  pronounced  by  an  Englishman  who  lived  with  the  Irishman,  and  who 
had  been  at  one  time  employed  in  a  borax  manufactory  in  England,  and  there- 
fore assumed  to  speak  knowingly  on  the  subject.  He  also  informed  me  in  the 
same  letter  that  a  Major  Vanbibber,  of  Antejope  valley,  had  discovered  large 
quantities  of  nitre  in  the  same  neighborhood.  These  glowing  reports  led  me  to 
hasten  the  excursion  I  had  so  long  contemplated.  In  a  personal  interview  with 
the  colonel  he  told  me  of  an  enormous  mass,  of  a  white,  pulverulent  substance,  he 
had  himself  observed  near  the  margin  of  Clear  lake,  of  the  nature  of  which  he 
was  ignorant.  Mr.  Charles  Fairfax,  who  was  with  the  colonel  at  the  time,  stated 
to  me  that  a  small  rivulet  running  at  the  base  of  the  white  hillock  was  an  in- 
tensely impregnated  mineral  water,  totally  undrinkable,  as  he  had  accidentally 
discovered  by  attempting  to  slake  his  thirst  with  it.  From  the  meagre  informa- 
tion gathered  from  these  gentlemen,  I  was  led  to  hope  the  '  hill  of  white  powder,' 
as  they  termed  it,  might  prove  to  be  borate  of  lime.  I  determined  to  satisfy 
myself  by  a  personal  examination  at  once,  and  I  finally  induced  Colonel  Lewis 
to  act  as  my  guide  by  furnishing  him  with  a  horse  and  paying  expenses.  It  was 
some  time  in  the  early  part  of  September  of  last  year  that  he  and  I  left  Sacra- 
mento for  the  localities  that  had  so  much  excited  my  hopes.  At  the  town  of 
Colusi,  which  we  reached  by  steamer,  horses  were  obtained,  and  we  proceeded 
in  a  westerly  direction  across  the  Sacramento  valley  to  the  foot-hills  of  the 
coast  mountains,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles.  That  portion  of  the  plains 
skirting  the  hills  gave  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  heavy  charge  of  mineral  salts, 
and  the  exceedingly  contorted  and  interrupted  state  of  the  hill  strata  enabled 
me  at  once  to  predict  the  presence  of  the  beloved  borates,  which  chemical  trial 
on  some  efflorescent  matter  taken  from  a  ravine  proved  to  be  the  case  in  a  slight 
degree.  At  this  point  we  entered '  Fresh-water  canon,'  which  cuts  the  hills  and 
forms  a  pass  way  into  Antelope  and  Bear  valleys.  Here  I  received  information 
from  a  settler  of  a  hot  sulphur  spring  a  few  miles  south  of  Bear  valley,  on  one 
of  the  trails  leading  to  Clear  lake.  This  spring  we  succeeded  in  finding  on  the 
following  day.  It  was  with  no  small  pleasure  that  I  observed  the  outcropping 
magnesian  limestone  in  the  hills  surrounding  the  valley  of  the  springs.  The 
strong  smell  of  sulphureted  hydrogen,  and  the  appearance  of  a  whitish  efflores- 
cence on  the  rocks,  manifested,  even  at  a  distance,  almost  the  certainty  of  find- 
ing the  mineral  I  sought.  The  indications  were  riot  deceptive.  The  efflorescence 
proved  to  be  boracic  acid,  in  part,  while  the  hot,  sulphurous  water  held  borate 
of  soda  in  solution,  together  with  chlorides  and  sulphates.  There  are  three  hot 
•springs  at  this  place,  and  several  cold  ones,  all  alike  strongly  impregnated  with 
common  salt  and  borax.  The  quantity  of  water  yielded  in  the  aggregate  is 
about  one  hundred  gallons  per  minute — the  hot  and  cold  springs  yielding  about 
equal  quantities.  The  temperature  of  the  hot  water  is  200°  Fahrenheit,  and 
that  of  the  cold  60°  Fahrenheit.  The  same  phenomenon  occurs  here  that  is  ob- 
served at  the  Tuscan  springs,  viz.,  free  boracic  acid  in  the  efflorescence  on  the 
margin  of  the  springs,  while  the  water  itself  shows  a  decided  alkaline  reaction. 
A  careful  examination  proves  that  the  efflorescent  matters  come  directly  from 
the  waters  of  the  spring — taken  up  by  capillary  attraction  of  the  soil  and  evapo- 
rated by  the  air.  The  singular  fact  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  decomposition 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  181 

of  tlic  borates  by  the  sulphuric  acid  generated  by  atmospheric  action  on  the  sul- 
phur in  which  the  soil  abounds  ;  or  the  same  decomposition  may  be  produced 
by  the  hydrosulphuric  acid  passing  up  in  gaseous  form  from  the  laboratory 
nature  has  established  beneath.  The  same  action,  doubtless,  takes  place  in  the 
water,  but  the  boracic  acid  set  free  is  at  once  taken  up  by  the  excess  of  alkaline 
matter,  while,  in  the  efflorescence,  no  fresh  supply  of  alkali  offering,  the  acid 
remains  in  its  free  state  when  once  displaced  by  more  powerful  acids. 

"  These  springs  seem  to  be  identical  in  the  character  of  their  waters  with  the 
Tuscan  springs,  and  therefore  doubtless  possess  the  same  extraordinary 
medicinal  virtues.  As  a  source  of  borax  these  springs  could  be  made  avail- 
able, but  as  the  owners  of  this  locality  possess  others  of  superior  richness,  it 
is  not  likely  to  be  ever  called  to  yield  its  mineral  treasure.  The  situation  is 
a  pleasant  and  romantic  one.  The  distance  from  the  town  of  Colusi  is  thirty- 
five  miles,  over  mostly  a  smooth  and  pleasant  road.  From  Clear  lake  it  is 
eighteen  miles,  and  over  rather  a  rough  country.  The  Indian  name  of  the 
place  is  Co-no-to-tok,  a  generic  word  having  reference  to  the  white  appearance 
of  the  ground.  Mr.  Archibald  Peachy  located  a  three-hundred-and-twenty- 
aere  school  land  warrant  on  this  place  in  behalf  of  the  borax  company.  After 
satisfying  myself  with  the  examination  of  this  interesting  spot,  noting  nothing 
of  interest  save  a  '  soda  spring,'  the  water  being  impregnated  to  a  remarkable 
degree  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  about  eight  miles  from  the  lake.  A  chemical  test 
also  detected  boracic  acid  in  smajl  quantity.  The  following  day  we  reached 
the  'Hill  of  White  Powder,'  the  goal  of  our  hopes,  on  the  margin  of  Clear  * 
lake.  This  «  White  Powder  Hill,'  the  goal  of  our  hopes,  proved  an  illustration 
of  how  little  the  recollections  of  mere  casual  observers  are  to  be  depended 
upon.  The  hill,  in  place  of  "consisting  of  materials  in  a  state  of  disintegration, 
so  as  to  admit  of  being  '  shoveled  up,'  as  my  friend  supposed,  proved  to  be  a 
concrete  volcanic  mass,  bleached  white  by  sulphurous  fumes,  and  looking,  at  a 
little  distance,  like  a  huge  mass  of  slaked  lime,  which  the  inattentive  ob- 
server might  readily  suppose  to  be  a  'hill  of  white  powder.'  The  hope  of  a 
treasure  in  the  form  of  borate  of  lime  vanished  forever. 

"  The  road  had  been  rather  toilsome,  the  weather  exceedingly  hot,  and  my 
guide  not  very  well ;  and  as  he  had  gone  the  full  length  of  the  contemplated 
journey,  and  felt  somewhat  disgusted  at  the  result  so  far,  and  had  nothing 
more  to  draw  his  attention  in  this  direction,  he  proposed  to  return  at  once  by 
the  way  of  the-  Irishman's  'borax  lake'  and  Vanbibber's  nitre 'placer.  This 
was  agreed  upon ;  so,  collecting  a  few  specimens  of  efflorescent  matters  from 
the  ground,  and  filling  a  bottle  with  the  water  in  the  ravine,  I  closed  the  ex- 
amination of  the  '  Hill  of  White  Powder.'  The  ravkie  I  afterwards  called  the 
"  boracic  acid  ravine,"  and  the  white  hill  is  now  called  '  Sulphur  Bank.'  Of 
these  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter. 

"  Before  leaving  the  neighborhood  I  determined,  however,  to  know  something 
more  of  its  surroundings.  1  learned,  upon  inquiry  of  Mr.  Hawkins,  who  lives 
near  the  spot,  that  a  place  not  far  off,  known  by  the  name  of « Alkali  lake/ 
presented  a  rather  peculiar  appearance.  Hawkins  consented  to  act  as  my 
guide.  After  travelling  a  short  distance,  and  clambering  to  the  narrow  edge 
of  an  almost  precipitous  mountain  ridge,  we  looked  down  the  opposite  slope, 
equally  steep,  on  a  small  muddy  lake  that  sent  up,  even  to  our  elevated  posi- 
tion, no  pleasant  perfumes.  Thus,  on  one  of  the  hottest  days  September  ever 
produced,  without  a  breath  of  air  to  dilute  the  exquisite  scent  exhaled  from 
two  hundred  acres  of  fragrant  mud,  of  an  untold  depth,  I  slid  down  the 
mountain  side  into  '  Alkali  lake,'  waded  knee-deep  into  its  eoapy  margin, 
and  filled  a  bottle  with  the  most  diabolical  watery  compound  this  side  the 
Dead  Sea.  Gathering  a  few  specimens  of  the  matter  encrusting  the  shore,  I 
hastened  to  escape  from  a  spot  very  far  from  being  attractive  at  the  time,  but 
which  1  have  since  learned  to  have  no  prejudice  against.  Of  this  place  1  shall 


182  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Lave  occasion  to  say  more.  On  my  return  to  Hawkins's,  who  had  the  kind- 
ness to  entertain  me  with  the  genuine  hospitality  of  a  frontiersman,  I  looked  to 
iny  last  specimens  and  found  encouraging  results  in  the  partial  chemical  ex 
animation  I  was  able  to  give  them.  I  now  again  placed  myself  under  the 
guidance  of  my  friend  Lewis,  and  we  started  for  the  Irishman's  house  in  Beai 
valley.  We  found  the  owner  of  the  '  borax  lake,'  but  the  borax  had  evap- 
orated with  the  water  and  left  nothing  but  common  salt,  tinged  of  a  beautiful 
bluish  red  color,  which  I  suppose  had  given  the  notion  that  it  was  something 
out  of  the  usual  way.  It  was  the  only  specimen  of  salt  I  remember  to  have 
seen  in  the  coast  range  that  contained  no  boracic  acid  in  any  form ;  it  was 
guiltless  of  even  a  trace.  The  next  step  was  to  examine  the  nitre  region. 
Major  Vanbibber,  the  reputed  discoverer,  being  a  grandson  of  Daniel  Boone, 
ought  to  possess,  one  would  suppose,  an  hereditary  knowledge  of  one  of  the 
essential  constituents  of  gunpowder ;  and  as  Colonel  Lewis  had  shown  me  a 
specimen  of  very  pure  nitre,  which  he  said  the  Major  had  given  him,  I  rather 
expected  to  find  a  lew  more  left.  This,  however,  was  rather  worse  than  the 
'  borax  lake '  disappointment ;  the  major  had  actually  forgotten  where  the 
lake  was,  and  whether  there  were  any  more  specimens  than  those  he  gave 
Lewis.  The  major,  I  believe,  must  really  have  forgotten,  for  upon  subsequent 
examination  the  specimen  proved  to  be  refined  saltpetre  that  undoubtedly  came 
from  some  shop  or  drug  store. 

"  There  was  certainly  a  mistake  about  its  origin ;  but  I  felt  amply  repaid  for 
a  hard  day's  ride  in  spending  a  night  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  a  direct  de- 
scendant- of  the  renowned  'Backwoodsman  of  Kentucky.'  I  observed  near 
the  major's  house  a  small  pond.  Some  salt  crystals  I  picked  up  had  the  pecu- 
liar bevelled  angles  indicating  the  presence  of  borax.  The  quantity  was  in- 
considerable. Thus  ended  my  first  expedition  to  Clear  lake.  We  here  set  our 
faces  direct  for  Colusi,  as  there  seemed  nothing  more  to  be  seen ;  and  as  I  had 
engaged  the  horses  we  rode  at  rather  a  high  per  diem,  I  felt  anxious  to  termi- 
nate the  trip.  From  Colusi  my  guide  returned  to  Sacramento  and  I  to  Red 
Bluff ;  from  there  I  came  again  to  San  Francisco,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  my 
specimens  more  critically  than  I  was  able  to  do  in  the  country. 

"  Convinced  of  the  lichuess  of  my  '  Alkali  lake'  specimens,  it  remained  to  be 
seen  whether  the  quantity  was  sufficient  to  justify  the  hope  of  making  it  avail- 
able for  practical  purposes.  A  further  and  more  strict  examination  was  neces- 
sary. I  felt,  too,  the  propriety  of  a  thorough  exploration  betwixt  the  Bluff 
and  Clear  lake,  and  more  thence  to  the  bay  of  Sail  Francisco,  thus  rendering 
continuous  the  reconnoissance  from  Pitt  river  to  the  last-named  point,  a  dis- 
tance, in  a  direct  line,  of  two  hundred  miles.  After  a  hard  struggle  for  the 
funds  requisite,  I  returned  to  Red  Bluff  ;  and  from  thence,  in  company  with  my 
son,  commenced  a  pretty  thorough  examination  of  the  coast  range  and  the  ad- 
joining edge  of  the  Sacramento  valley. 

"  Nothing  of  much  importance  presented  itself  until  reaching  a  saline  district, 
about  eighty  miles  south  of  Red  Bluff.  It  is  one  of  the  branches  of  Stony 
creek.  Valuable  salt  springs  exist  here.  The  water  contains  the  borates  in 
minute  quantities ;  and  one  spring  was  remarkable  for  the  enormous  proportion 
of  iodine  salts  held  in  solution.  In  our  slow,  onward  progress  borax  now  and 
again  manifested  itself;  but  as  it  had  grown  familiar,  I  no  longer  went  into 
ecstacies  over  a  mere  trace.  I  still  treated,  however,  the  slightest  indications 
with  due  deference,  and  noted  their  localities. 

"  In  due  time  I  again  reached  the  '  white  hill.'  The  disgust  of  the  first  disap- 
pointment had  worn  off',  and  I  felt  disposed  to  re-examine  the  locality  more 
critically.  I  now  discovered,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  'white  hill'  was 
mostly  a  mass  of  sulphur,  fused  by  volcanic  heat.  The  external  dust,  com- 
posed of  sulphur,  mixed  with  sand  and  earthy  impurities,  and  formed  a  concrete 
covering  of  a  whitish  appearance,  hiding  the  nature  of  the  mass  beneath.  On 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  183 

breaking  the  crust,  numerous  fissures  and  small  cavities,  lined  with  sulphur 
crystals  of  great  beauty,  were  brought  to  light.  Through  the  fissures,  which 
seemed  to  communicate  with  the  depth  below,  hot  aqueous  vapors  and  sulphur- 
ous fumes  constantly  escape.  The  fused  mass,  covering  many  acres  and  ex- 
hibiting a  bluff  iront  some  forty  feet  high,  is  exceedingly  compact  and  pon- 
derous in  structure;  of  various  shades,  from  yellow  to  almost  black.  It  seems 
to  be  very  pure  sulphur.  The  quantity  is  enormous,  and  at  no  distant  day  may 
be  made  available, 

"From  the  '  sulphur  bank  '  I  again  turned  my  attention  to  the  ravine.  The 
water,  as  I  had  before  ascertained,  was  strongly  impregnated  with  boracic  acid, 
in  a- free  state.  The  stream  is  small,  yielding  only  about  three  gallons  per 
minute,  and  is  soon  lost  in  the  sandy  soil,  in  its  progress  toward  the  margin  of 
the  lake.  From  the  porous  nature  of  the  ground  surrounding  the  spring,  and 
saturated  with  the  same  kind  of  acid  water,  it  is  probable  a  large  quantity  escapes 
without  making  its  appearance  on  the  surface.  The  soil  for  some  yards  on  either 
side  of  the  ravine  is,  to  the  depth  of  an  inch  or  two  impregnated  with  boracic 
acid  in  summer.  Sulphuretted  hydrogen  escapes  in  continued  bubbles  through 
the  water,  a  feature  common  to  all  the  borax  localities  I  have  yet  found ;  in 
some  places,  however,  the  carburetted  takes  the  place  of  the  sulphuretted  hydro- 

gen.  The  head  of  this  ravine  is  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  margin  of 
lear  lake,  winding  around  the  base  of  the  'sulphur  bank,'  receiving  some 
small  springs  in  its  course,  which  seem  to  have  their  origin  beneath  the  sulphur. 
The  flat  land  bordering  the  lake,  some  eight  acres  in  extent,  through  which  the 
ravine  runs,  shows  a  strong  impregnation  of  boracic  acid  in  its  soil.  The  point 
where  the  ravine  enters  the  lake  is  marked  by  a  large  quantity  of  water  of  a 
boiling  temperature,  issuing  through  the  sand,  a  little  within  the  margin  of  the 
lake.  This  percolation  of  hot  water  covers  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  by 
seventy-five  feet.  This  fact  I  observed  on  my  second  visit,  but  not  until  the 
third  or  fourth  visit  did  I  ascertain  that  the  water  contained  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  borax,  along  with  an  access  of  boracic  acid.  From  a  gallon  I  obtained 
four  hundred  and  eighty-eight  grains  of  solid  matter,  consisting  of  borax,  boracic 
acid,  and  a  small  portion  of  silicons  and  other  earthy  impurities.  On  digging 
to  a  slight  depth  just  outside  the  lake,  the  hot  water  burst  up  and  ran  off  freely. 
From  one  of  these  places  a  stream  issued  of  sixty  gallons  per  minute.  I  have 
estimated  the  entire  quantity  at  three  hundred  gallons  per  minute,  and  feel  very 
confident  of  being  largely  within  bounds.  The  stream  seems  to  come  from  the 
direction  of  the  sulphur  bank,  and  it  would  probably  be  easy  to  intercept  it  be- 
fore it  enters  the  lake,  by  digging  a  little  above  high-water  mark.  It  may  be 
well  to  note  here,  that  the  difference  between  high  and  low  water  marks  in  Clear 
lake  is  never  more  than  three  feet. 

"  The  enormous  amount  of  borax  these  springs  are  capable  of  yielding  would 
equal  half  the  quantity  of  that  article  consumed  both  in  England  and  America. 
The  large  quantity  of  water  in  which  it  is  dissolved  would,  of  course,  involve 
the  necessity  of  extensive  works  for  evaporation.  Graduation,  as  a  cheap  and 
effective  method  of  evaporation,  would  be  exceedingly  applicable  here,  from  the 
continued  prevalence  of  winds  throughout  the  entire  year.  These  winds  blow- 
ing almost  unceasingly  from  the  west,  form  a  peculiar  feature  of  the  country 
about  Clear  lake. 

"There  is  nothing  to  hinder  the  manufacture  of  many  million  pounds  of  borax 
per  annum,  at  a  cost  but  little  beyond  that  of  producing  salt  by  graduation. 
Fuel  for  final  evaporation  could  be  had  in  any  quantities  from  the  extensive  oak 
forest  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  With  these  observations  I  dismiss  this  locality, 
adding,  however,  that  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Baldwin  located  this  with  a  four  hundred 
and  eighty  acre  school  land  warrant,  for  the  benefit  of  a  borax  company. 

"  Having  wandered  from  my  story  of  my  second  visit  to  the  '  sulphur  bank,' 
and  blended  with  it  observations  made  in  several  subsequent  examinations,  I 


184  RESOURCES   OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

now  turn  to  my  second'  visit  to  '  Alkali  lake,  or  Lake  Kaysa,  as  the  Indian? 
call  it.  I  need  only  say,  however,  I  became  fully  satisfied  of  the  great  value 
of  the  locality,  the  extent  of  which  has  only  been  recently  developed.  I  ob- 
served that  the  lake  itself  contained  but  little  water,  but  that  wells  dug  any- 
where near  its  margin  immediately  filled  with  the  same  kind  of  water ;  the  con- 
clusion, therefore,  was,  Vhat  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  was  obtainable.  I 
learned,  too,  that  what  seemed  to  be  mud  at  the  margin  and  shelving  off  and 
covering  the  entire  bottom  to  the  depth  of  some  feet,  was  a  peculiar  jelly-like 
substance  of  a  soapy  feel  and  smell.  This  matter  I  found  to  be  so  rich  in  borax, 
that  I  supposed  it  might  be  advantageously  used  for  the  extraction  of  the  mine- 
ral. Thus  satisfied  of  the  value  of  the  lake,  I  little  thought  that  within  a  few 
yards  of  me  lay  an  additional  value  in  the  form  of  millions  of  pounds  of  pure 
borax  crystals,  hidden  by  the  jelly-like  substance  I  was  then  contemplating. 
This  important  fact  was  not  observed  until  some  six  months  afterwards. 

"  This  locality  is  by  far  the  most  important  of  any  I  have  yet  discovered.  It 
is  situated,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  accompanying  map,  in  the  angle 
formed  by  the  two  prongs  into  which  Clear  lake  is  divided  at  its  eastern  extremity. 
The. elevated  hill  land  that  fills  the  angle  separates  into  two  sharp  ridges,  each 
following  its  division  of  the  lake  and  leaving  a  valley  between,  of  a  triangular 
shape,  near  the  apex  of  which  lies  Alkali  lake.  Clear  lake  is,  therefore,  on  two 
sides  of  it,  distant  to  the  north  about  a  mile,  and  to  the  south  about  half  the 
distance.  The  open  part  of  the  triangular  plain  looks  to  the  east,  and  expands 
into  an  extensive  valley,  from  which  it  is  cut  off,  partially,  by  a  low  volcanic 
ridge  running  across  from  one  hill  to  the  other,  and  thus  enclosing  the  triangle 

"  This  ridge  is  composed  of  huge  masses  of  rock  resembling  pumice-stone, 
which  float  like  cork  in  water.  A  thin  stratum  of  ashy-looking  soil,  scattered 
over  with  obsidian  fragments,  covers  the  ridge  and  affords  root  to  a  stunted 
growth  of  manzanita  shrubs. 

"  The  whole  neighborhood  bears  marks  of  comparatively  recent  volcanic  ac- 
tion. Indeed,  the  action  has  not  ceased  entirely  yet ;  hot  sulphurous  fumes 
issue  from  several  places  on  the  edge  of  the  ridge  just  named,  on  the  side  next 
Alkali  lake. 

"  The  '  lake,'  as  it  is  called,  is  rather  a  marsh  than  a  lake.  In  winter  it 
covers  some  two  hundred  acres,  with  about  three  feet  depth  of  water.  '  In  the 
dry  portion  of  the  year  it  shrinks  to  some  fifty  or  sixty  acres,  with  a  depth  of 
only  a  few  inches.  The  '  soapy  matter '  covers  the  entire  "extent  with  a  depth 
of  nearly  four  feet,  the  upper  part,  for  a  foot  in  depth,  being  in  a  state  of  semi- 
fluidity,  the  lower  having  the  consistency  of  stiff  mortar.  Beneath  this  is  a 
rather  tenacious  blue  clay.  This  water  was  nearly  as  highly  charged  with 
solid  matter  as  that  of  the  lake  in  its  highest  summer  concentration ;  the  pro- 
portion of  borax  to  other  substances  being  greater.  The  soapy  or  gelatinous 
matter,  however,  presents  the  greatest  feature  of  attraction,  being  filled  with  the 
prismatic  crystals  of  pure  borax.  They  vary,  from  a  microscopic  size  up  to  the 
weight  of  several  ounces.  These  crystals  are  semi-transparent,  of  a  whitish  or 
yellowish  color.  The  form  is  an  oblique  rhomboidal  prism,  with  replaced  edges 
and  truncated  angles.  In  some  cases  the  edges  are  bevelled,  and  in  others  the  un- 
modified hexahedral  prism  exists.  Beneath  the  gelatinous  matter,  and  on  the 
surface  of  the  blue  clay,  and  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  it,  crystals 
of  a  similar  form,  but  much  larger,  are  found.  They  weigh  from  an  ounce, 
and  seem  to  have  been  formed  under  different  circumstances  from  the 
other  crystals.  My  first  impression  was  that  they  had  been  formed  in  the 
upper  stratum,  and,  sinking  by  their  own  gravity,  had  found  their  present  posi- 
tion. An  examination  proves,  however,  that  they  were  formed  where  they  lie, 
as  particles  of  the  blue  clay  are  found  enclosed  in  their  centres,  which  could  not 
have  been  the  case  had  the  upper  crystals  been  their  nuclea,  for  no  blue  matter 
is  ever  found  in  them. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  185 

"  The  first  inquiry  of  practical  interest  relates  to  the  quantity  of  borax  already 
formed.  On  this  subject  I  cannot  speak  with  perfect  confidence.  The  quan- 
tity is  very  considerable,  but  I  do  not  lock  on  the  experiments  heretofore  made 
to  test  this  matter  as  conclusive.  The  area  covered  by  the  crystalline  deposit 
is  not  coextensive  with  that  of  the  lake,  but  has  been  found  over  a  space  oi 
about  twenty  acres  in  the  examination  made  so  far.  A  very  valuable  collateral 
product,  iodine,  with  the  compounds  of  which  the  water  seems  to  be  exceed- 
ingly rich,  could  be  made  a  source  of  revenue  with  but  little  additional  expense. 
"With  regard  to  the  quantity  of  iodine  I  cannot  speak  positively,  not  having 
isolated  the  product ;  but  from  the  brilliant  reaction  with  the  qualitative  tests, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  being  great.  Should  this  article  be  manufactured 
largely  the  sulphuric  acid  required  might  be  made  on  the  spot  from  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  '  sulphur  bank,'  one  and  a  half  mile  distant.  With  this  I  leave 
'  Alkali  lake.'  I  would  state  that  I  located  this  place  in  my  own  name  for 
the  company. 

"'  There  is  yet  another  important  boras  locality  in  the  same  vicinity,  resem- 
bling much  the  foregoing  in  its  more  prominent  features.  It  consists  of  a  pond 
of  water  of  about  twenty  acres.  The  bottom  is  covered  with  the  same  soap- 
like  substance,  but  seems  to  contain  no  crystals.  The  water  contains  less  solid 
matter  in  solution,  but  the  percentage  of  borax  is  greater  in  proportion  to  the 
other  substances  than  in  the  Alkali  lake.  The  borax  separates  readily  by 
crystallization,  and  forms  about  thirty -three  per  cent,  of  the  whole  matter.  Like 
the  foregoing,  this  pond  has  no  outlet  and  no  visible  source  of  supply ;  yet  it  is 
said  never  to  be  dry,  although  the  water  is  never  more  than  three  feet  deep. 
It  would  perhaps  be  a  profitable  source  of  borax  if  the  millions  of  pounds  the 
before-described  localities  are  capable  of  yielding  be  not  enough  to  supply  the 
demand.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  magnificent  grove  of  pines  and  oaks.  This 
place  was  taken  by  Mr.  Archibald  Peachy,  by  the  location  of  a  three-hundred- 
and-twenty-acre  school  land  warrant.  The  borates  are  also  known  to  exist  in  other 
localities  between  Clear  lake  and  Napa  City.  In  Siegler  valley  there  is  a  hot 
spring,  in  the  waters  of  which  1  detected  borate  of  strontia  and  other  borate 
salts.  Near  Napa  there  is  a  borate  spring,  and  one  in  Suisan  valley,  near  the 
marble  quarry.  None  of  these  places  are  important.  The  foregoing  are  the 
only  borax  localities  known  in  the  northern  part  of  this  State ;  and  I  feel  con- 
fident there  are  no  others  in  that  quarter  that  can  ever  compete  with  the  inex- 
haustible stores  of  the  Alkali  lake  and  the  hot  springs.  I  had  expected  to  find 
something  worthy  of  attention  at  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  geysers,  but 
there  was  no  trace  of  borates  in  the  hot  waters  of  those  springs,  nor  anywhere 
totally  in  the  surrounding  district.  The  geological  features  of  the  country  were  so 
different  from  those  of  that  where  I  had  theretofore  found  the  borates,  that  I  was 
able  to  predict  as  soon  as  I  saw  it  that  nothing  of  the  kind  existed.  In  a  hasty 
reconnoissance  of  the  great  Tulare  valley  I  found  traces,  but  nothing  more,  of 
these  substances.  I  have  reasons  for  doubting  the  existence  of  any  largo 
quantities  in  that  region.  That  portion  of  the  valley  bordering  on  the  Coast 
range  might  be  worth  examining  further.  It  is  there,  if]  anywhere,  valuable 
deposits  may  be  looked  for. 

"  There  probably  are  as  many  as  three  districts  in  the  lower  part  of  the  State 
presenting  the  borates.  One  or  more  valuable  localities  may  probably  be  found 
among  them." 

4.— PRODUCT  OF  BORAX  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Up  to  this  date  but  one  borax  company  has  been  formed  in  California.  There 
was  some  talk  of  organizing  another  company  eight  or  nine  months  since,  the 
parties  interested  having  discovered  on  the  shores  of  Owen's  lake,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  State,  a  substance  resembling  the  borate  of  lime  of  South  America 


186  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

but  an  analysis  of  some  specimens  and  of  the  waters  of  the  lake  showing  no 
trace  of  borax,  the  project  was  abandoned.  The  California  Borax  Company  is 
the  only  company  on  this  coast  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge.  This  company 
produces  at  present  about  two  tons  of  crude  crystals  daily.  Their  process  is 
simple,  the  entire  machinery  consisting  of  six  small  coffer-dams,  six  feet  square 
each,  open  at  top  and  bottom.  By  means  of  floats  these  coffer-dams  are  sunk 
in  the  mud ;  the  water  is  then  bailed  out,  and  the  finer  crystals  extracted  by 
washing,  as  in  placer  gold-washing. 

5.— PROCESS  OF  WORKING. 

The  mud  taken  from  different  parts  of  the  lake  after  the  crystals  have  been 
extracted  in  this  primitive  way  give,  by  analysis,  from  11.9  to  18.7  per  cent  of 
prismatic  borax,  and  from  virgin  mud,  partially  dried,  from  which  the  borax  has  not 
been  extracted,  a  result  of  31^  crystallized  borax  is  obtained.  Several  tons 
of  the  mud,  which  had  been  worked  over  by  the  coffer-dams,  were  treated  prac- 
tically by  lixiviation,  and  gave  the  following  results  : 

Fine  prismatic  borax,  15  per  cent. ;  carbonate  of  soda,  28J  per  cent. ;  common 
ealt,  8J  percent.;  equal  to  51f  per  cent,  -Thus  yielding  in  the  three  salts  more 
than  one-half  the  weight  of  the  whole.  The  mud  partially  dried  lixiviates  easily, 
and  the  salts  are  separated  without  difficulty. 

When  the  company's  works  are  completed  the  present  mode  of  production 
will  be  discontinued. 

The  fine  crystals  are  found  in  the  upper  layer  or  stratum  of  soft  mud  to  the 
depth  of  about  six  feet.  They  dissolve  easily,  and  are  subsequently  reformed  in 
large  crystals  by  the  process  of  boiling  and  crystallization.  Below  the  first  stra- 
tum is  a  stiff,  blue  mud  containing  the  largest  crystals,  which  are  picked  out  by 
band,  the  mud  being  too  stiff  to  be  treated  by  washing.  The  quantity  ob- 
tained by  the  present  process  could  be  increased  by  increasing  the  number  of 
coffer-dams.  This  has  not  been  done  for  the  reason  that  the  company  have  been 
engaged  during  the  summer  in  the  erection  of  expensive  works  for  the  treatment 
of  the  mud  by  lixiviation,  having  found  by  analysis  and  by  actual  experiment 
that  for  every  pound  taken  out  by  the  coffer-dam  washing  process  fourteen  or 
fifteen  pounds  go  back  into  the  lake,  where  it  is  held  in  solution  or  in  minute 
crystals  by  the  liquid  mud.  It  is  expected  that  they  will  be  in  successful  opera- 
tion by  next  spring,  when,  it  is  confidently  anticipated,  the  'capabilities  for  pro- 
duction will  be  practically  unlimited. 

Borax  lake  covers  two  hundred  and  nineteen  acres  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
summer.*  At  other  seasons  it  covers  quite  four  hundred  acres,  of  which  about 
three  hundred  acres  may  be  considered  as  borax  ground.  The  average  depth 
of  the  water  is  about  two  and  a  half  feet.  It  is  the  mud,  -however,  which  con- 
tains the  borax  in  large  quantities.  The  first  eight  and  a  half  feet  average  15 
per  cent,  borax,  28  per  cent,  carbonate  of  soda,  and  8^  per  cent,  common  salt. 
Below  the  depth  of  eight  and  a  half  feet  the  smallness  of  the  coffer-dams  has  pre- 
vented their  working,  hence  it  is  not  known  how  much  further  down  this  high 
average  will  continue.  At  the  depth  of  sixty  feet  the  mud  brought  up  by  an 
artesian  borer  give  by  analysis  but  3.51  per  cent,  of  borax*.  The  intermediate 
points  between  eight  and  a  half  and  sixty  feet  have  not  yet  been  tested.  The 
artesian  borer  was  sent  up  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  ground  at  all  depths, 
but,  being  worked  by  inexperienced  hands,  was  broken  on  the  first  trial  after 
having  reached  the  depth  of  sixty  feet. 

An  estimate  of  average  workings  shows  that  twenty  cubic  feet  of  mud  will 
yield  one  ton,  so  that  taking  the  number  of  square  feet  to  the  acre,  the  numbei 
of  fert  already  tested,  and  the  percentage  of  borax  contained  in  the  mud,  an 
approximate  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  value  of  this  deposit. 

*  Report  of  United  States  surveyor  general  of  California. 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  187 

The  company  estimate  that  if  the  crystallization  which  is  going  on  all  the 
time  were  to  cease  suddenly,  they  would  still  have  a  deposit  of  at  least  two 
thousand  tons  of  borax  and  eight  thousand  tons  of  carbonate  of  soda  to  the 
acre. 

Besides  the  innumerable  boracic  springs  -which  find  an  outlet  in  the  bed  of  the 
lake,  there  are  other  springs  on  the  same  property  which  deposit  boracic  acid 
over  a  large  surface  of  ground.  These  are  not  worked  for  the  reason  that  the 
lake  furnishes  the  borax  itself  in  such  great  abundance. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  total  consumption  of  borax  in  Great  Britain 
was  less  than  2,500  tons  per  annum,  the  company  proposed,  limiting  the  capa- 
city of  their  works  to  about  eight  tons  a  day.  Recent  information,  however, 
satisfies  them  that  the  actual  consumption  in  Great  Britain  is  upwards  of  11,000 
tons.  They  profess  to  be  able  to  place  borax  in  London  cheaper  than  it  can  be 
manufactured  there,  which,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  is  five  cents  per  pound.  The 
carbonate  of  soda  will  pay  the  cost  of  production. 

The  cost  of  labor  at  borax  lake  is  $31  per  month.  The  laborers  employed 
are  Chinese,  and  they  find  themselves.  Fuel  is  abundant  all  over  the  hillsides. 
Transportation  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  is  $15  per  ton. 

In  1865  this  company  exported  1,707  cases  of  borax,  valued  at  $38,765;  and 
during  the  first  nine  months  of  1866  they  have  exported  1,998  cases,  valued  at 
$42,235,  and  there  is  a  steadily  increasing  demand  for  it  in  the  markets  of  the 
Atlantic  States,  as  its  great  purity  is  becoming  known.  The  imports  of  this 
article  on  this  coast  have  nearly  ceased  since  this  California  product  has  been 
introduced.  The  superintendent  of  the  mint,  all  the  assayers  and  manufac- 
turers who  use  this  article  in  their  operations,  combine  in  stating  that  it  is  far 
better  than  any  imported. 

There  are  several  lakes  among  the  Sierra  Nevadas  in  the  States  of  California 
and  Nevada,  the  waters  of  which  contain  large  quantities  of  boracic  acid  in  so- 
lution. But  the  only  place  on  the  coast,  if  not  in  the  world,  where  it  is  found 
in  a  crystalline  form  in  such  abundance,  is  in  the  coast  range. 

6.— DEPOSITS  OF  SULPHUR. 

There  are  sulphur  deposits  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  but  only  one  thus 
far  has  been  worked  successfully — that  belonging  to  the  Borax  Company,  near 
Clear  lake,  which  has  been  in  operation  about  four  months.  The  capacity  of 
the  present  refinery  is  from  six  to  ten  tons  per  day,  depending  on  the  variable 
quality  of  the  material  worked. 

Along  the  entire  base  of  the  sulphur  hills  flow  innumerable  boracic  acid 
springs.  Near  the  shores  of  the  lake  are  boiling  springs  of  borax. 

7.— TIN. 

[From  the  Geological  Survey  of  California,  vol.  I,  page  180,  by  Prof.  J.  D.  Whitney.] 

The  Temescal  range  was,  in  1860  and  1861,  the  scene  of  a  great  excitement 
on  the  subject  of  tin,  whicft  metal  was  supposed  to  occur  here  in  large  quantity, 
hundreds  of  claims  being  taken  up,  covering  all  the  hills  and  ridges  for  miles 
around.  *Tin  ore  was  undoubtedly  found  at  one  locality  in  these  hills  and  in 
considerable  quantity,  as  specimens  of  it  have  been  seen  in  various  collections 
from  San  Francisco  to  New  York.  The  ore,  which  appears  to  be  a  mixture  of 
cassiterite,  (tin  stone,  or  oxide  of  tin,)  with  more  or  less  earthy  or  mineral 
matter,  resembling  a  mixture  of  hydrous  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese,  is  quite 
unlike  in  appearance  to  any  previously  seen,  and  its  true  character  would  hardly 
have  been  recognized  by  the  most  practiced  mineralogist.  Some  specimens, 
assayed  in  New  York  and  Boston,  gave  as  much  as  60  per  cent,  of  the  metal. 

The  locality  from  v/hich  this  ore  was  obtained  was  the  so-called  Cajalco 


188  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

mine,  about  three  miles  north  of  the  Temescal  ranch-house.  Here  a  shaft  had 
been  sunk,  in  the  winter  of  J860-?61,  to  the  depth  of  thirty-six  feet;  but  it  was 
partly  filled  with  water  and  inaccessible  at  the  time  of  our  visit.  A  great  num- 
ber of  the  claims  taken  up  in  this  vicinity  were  visited.  They  seemed  nearly 
all  to  be  located  on  seams  or  streaks  of  dark  hornblende  running  irregularly 
through  the  granitic  and  highly  metamorphic  rocks.  Although  there  was  no 
appearance  of  tin  about  any  of  these,  or  any  signs  of  regularity  in  the  "leads," 
a  great  many  specimens  were  collected  and  carefully  assayed  for  tin,  without 
there  being  a  trace  of  that  metal  found  in  any  one  of  them.  The  excitement 
has  undoubtedly  long  since  died  away,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  the  mass  of 
the  ore  in  the  Cajalco  mine  was  very  extensive,  or  more  would  have  been  heard 
of  it  before  this  time.*  At  all  events,  it  is  a  singular  and  interesting  occurrence 
of  this  metal,  and  we  know  of  no  other  locality  on  the  Pacific  coast  north  of 
Mexico  where  tin  ore  has  been  found  in  place.  A  single  fragment  of  this  sub- 
stance was  given  us,  apparently  under  circumstances  justifying  credence  in  the 
discovery,  as  having  been  found  loose  in  the  soil  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State, 
near  Weaversville ;  but  the  vein  from  which  it  was  derived  has  probably  never 
been  discovered,  as  such  a  fact  could  have  hardly  failed  to  become  widely 
known. 

A  belt  of  limestone  crosses  through  Temescal  valley,  as  was  recognized  from 
the  occurrence  of  numerous  fragments  of  this  rock  on  the  surface.  The  bed 
itself  we  were  unable  to  discover.  It  is  of  a  light  brown  color,  semi-crystalline 
in  texture,  and  contains  minute  organic  bodies,  of  which  the  exact  nature  could 
not  be  made  out. 

8.— COAL. 

SIR:  In  accordance  with  your  request,  I  herewith  submit  a  report  on  the 
coal  mines  of  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  the  character  of  the  coal,  the 
present  condition  of  the  mining  interests,  and  a  table  of  statistics  of  the  amount 
consumed  in  San  Francisco  during  the  last  six  years.  The  latter  item  is  prac- 
tically a  statement  of  the  actual  yield  of  our  domestic  mines,  inasmuch  as  San 
Francisco  is  almost  the  only  market,  the  outside  consumption  barely  amounting 
to  ten  per  cent,  of  the  amount  used  in  this  city. 

I  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  M.  GABB. 

J.  Ross  BROWNE,  Esq. 

Mr.  GabVs  Report. 

The  great  coal-bearing  formations  of  the  world,  those  from  which  the  coals 
of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Mississippi  valley  are  obtained,  are  not  represented 
on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  North  American  continent.  It  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood, however,  that  the  carboniferous  formation  is  the  only  one  in  which  valu- 
able deposits  of  coal  have  been  found.  Every  one  of  the  great  groups  of  rocks 
has  been  found  to  yield  coal  in  workable  quantities  in  some  part  of  the  world. 
The  brown  coal  of  Germany,  of  nearly  the  same  geological  age  as  that  of  the 
Oregon  mines,  has  been  worked  for  many  years  with  profit.  So  also  the  cre- 
taceous coal  of  California  has  its  analogue  in  New  Zealand.  In  the  older 
formations,  the  Jurassic,  triassic,  and  permian  rocks,  intermediate  in  age  between 
the  coals  of  California  and  those  of  the  great  coal-fields  of  the  Atlantic  slope, 
all  yield  their  stores  of  carbonized  plants  to  the  mirier,  whether  under  the  name 
of  coal  or  lignite. 

The  coal   deposits  of  the  Pacific  may  b^  divided  into  two  distinct  groups, 

*  The  cause  of  the  suspension  of  operations  on  these  mines,  as  alleged  by  persons  living 
in  Los  Angeles  county  and  familiar  with  the  circumstances  attending  the  discovery,  is  that 
the  claims  are  in  litigation.  J.  R.  B. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  189 

geologically.  The  older,  including  all  of  the  workable  coals  of  California,  as 
well  as  that  of  Washington  Territory  and  Vancouver  island,  belongs  to  the 
cretaceous  formation,  the  analogue  of  the  white  chalk  of  England.  This 
formation  consists  here  of  two  members,  the  older  of  which  contains  the  north- 
ern coal  deposits ;  and,  although  it  exists  in  California,  making  a  large  portion 
of  the  coast  range,  it  is,  so  far  as  known,  in  this  State  entirely  barren  of  coal. 
The  upper  group,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  found  outside  of  the  limits  of  Cali- 
fornia, is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  coast  range,  and  is  the  coal-bearing 
formation  of  this  State. 

The  other  group  is  the  miocene  or  middle  tertiary  formation.  This  group  of 
rocks-  is  one  of  the  most  widely  spread  on  this  side  of  the  continent,  and  is 
known,  so  far,  to  exist  from  the  Russian  possessions  on  the  north  to  Cape  San, 
Lucas  on  the  south.  In  a  thousand  places  along  this  vast  extent  it  contains 
small  seams  of  coal,  well  marked  enough  to  deceive  the  ignorant  prospector, 
but  never  of  sufficient  extent  to  be  practically  valuable,  except  in  a  single 
locality  in  the  State  of  Oregon. 

Before  proceeding  further,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  well  to  glance  in  detail  at 
the  several  localities  on  this  coast  that  have  yielded  coal  in  profitable  quantities. 
The  number  of  these  localities  is  small,  though,  doubtless,  an  increased  demand, 
combined  with  a  diminished  cost  of  labor,  will  increase  their  number. 

Bellingham  bay,  in  almost  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  Washington 
Territory,  is  the  site  of  one  of  the  largest  and  best  mines  on  this  side  of  the 
continent.  The  deposit  consists  of  about  fourteen  feet  in  thickness  of  coal  and 
slate,  of  which  I  was  informed  that  about  nine  feet  were  available  for  mining. 
The  coal  itself,  as  compared  with  other  coals  of  the  coast,  is  of  fair  quality,  the 
greatest  drawback  being  the  occasional  presence  of  sulphur,  rendering  it  un- 
pleasant for  domestic  purposes.  The  position  of  the  mine,  with  reference  to  the 
harbor,  is  excellent.  The  mouth  of  the  mine  is  barely  over  a  fourth  of  a  mile 
from  the  vessels  in  the  harbor  in  which  the  coal  is  shipped.  The  coal  is,  there- 
fore, only  handled  in  the  mine  and  while  being  picked  in  the  coal-house,  thereby 
avoiding  much  of  the  breakage  to  which  soft  coals  are  subjected  by  repeated 
handlings.  The  vein  dips  at  a  high  angle,  and  all  of  the  coals  and  the  water 
have  to  be  extracted  by  expensive  machinery. 

At  Nanaimo,  on  Vancouver  island,  about  seventy  miles  above  Victoria,  there 
is  a  deposit  of  the  same  geological  age  as  that  at  Bellingham  bay,  and  which 
has  been  worked  extensively.  This  mine  was  originally  owned  and  worked  by 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  About  1863  it  was  sold  to  a  company  called  the 
Vancouver  Island  Coal  Company.  The  appliances  about  the  mine  are  of  the 
most  substantial  and  convenient  kind,  and  the  working  of  the  mine  was,  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  a  model  of  good  engineering.  The  coal  is  claimed  to  be  su- 
perior to  any  other  produced  on  the  coast,  and  commands  a  higher  price  in  the 
San  Francisco  market  than  any  other  west  coast  coal. 

Many  other  deposits  of  coal  exist  along  the  shores  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  and 
Puget  sound.  Most  of  these  are,  however,  either  so  inaccessible  or  so  small 
that,  with  the  present  costs  of  labor  and  transportation,  they  can  hardly  prove 
profitable.  An  exception  to  this  remark  may  exist  in  the  Straits  of  Fuca  mine, 
near  Clallam  bay,  Washington  Territory,  opened  within  the  last  year  or  two. 
It  is  claimed  that  this  is  a  really  good  mine.  It  will  certainly  need  to  have  an 
extensive  deposit  of  good  coal  to  be  of  the  slightest  value  on  that  inhospitable 
coast. 

Coming  southward,  the  next  region  of  any  importance  is  Coos  bay.  As 
stated  above,  the  coal  of  this  locality  is  of  tertiary  age.  The  deposit  does  not 
seem  to  be  very  extensive,  and  it  is  so  located  that  but  a  small  portion  of  it 
can  be  worked.  Most  of  the  coal  lies  under  heavy  rolling  hills  at  a  great  depth 
from  the  surface.  One  mine — the  Newport  or  Flanagan  mine — has  been  worked 
in  a  small  way  for  eight  or  nine  years  with  very  satisfactory  results.  Upwards 


190  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

of  thirty  thousand  tons  of  coal  have  been  shipped  to  San  Francisco,  and  sold 
there  at  a  price  above  the  current  average  price  of  west  coast  coals.  The  de- 
posit consists  of  three  veins,  separated  by  only  a  few  inches  of  soft  claystone, 
and  making  an  aggregate  thickness  of  eight  to  nine  feet  of  good  compact  coal, 
with  almost  no  slate  or  bone  coal. 

The  deposit  is  nearly  horizontal,  dipping  towards  the  mouth  of  the  mine 
with  only  sufficient  angle  to  permit  unassisted  drainage,  and  the  running  out  of 
the  cars  by  gravity.  No  hoisting  or  pumping  gear  has  ever  been  or  ever  will 
be  used  in  this  mine.  The  coal  is  carried  seven-eighths  of  a  mile  in  cars  to  a 
wharf,  where  it  is  shot  into  lighters  and  carried  a  mile  thence  to  the  vessel  in 
which  it  is  shipped  to  San  Francisco.  Were  the  railroad  extended  so  as  to 
avoid  lighterage,  and  the  expense  and  loss  consequent  on  the  repeated  handlings 
of  the  coal,  and  were  the  coal,  shipped  in  steam  vessels  devoted  exclusively  to 
this  trade,  instead  of  being  carried  by  the  one  or  two  hundred  tons  at  a  time  in 
lumber  vessels,  this  mine  might  be  made  the  most  profitable,  as  well  as  the  most 
popular,  on  the  coast. 

Many  localities  of  coal  are  known  in  interior  Oregon — as,  for  instance,  on  the 
McKenzie  fork,  of  the  Willamette  river ;  the  vicinity  of  Eugene  City ;  several 
places  in  the  valley  of  the  main  Columbia,  &c.,  &c. ;  but  interior  coal  mines  can 
never  be  of  practical  value  in  California  or  Oregon  at  a  distance  from  railroads 
and  navigation,  unless  for  local  manufacturing  purposes,  especially  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  heavy  forests  which  clothe  so  much  of  the  surface  of  Oregon. 

In  California  the  coal  formation  is  found  over  a  large  area.  I  have  identified 
it  in  the  coast  ranges  from  the  vicinity  of  Round  valley,  Mendocino  county,  to 
New  Idria,  Monterey  county.  In  the  former  locality  the  coal  forms  a  bed  about 
ten  feet  thick,  very  impure,  but  with  one  or  two  seams,  of  about  a  foot  thick,  of 
excellent  quality.  The  locality  is  so  inaccessible,  however,  that  it  can  never  be 
"of  any  value.  At  New  Idria,  about  four  miles  from  the  Idria  mine,  the  same 
beds  occur  again,  and  have  been  "  prospected"  to  some  extent  for  coal.  Here 
they  exist  as  beds  of  clay  slates,  barely  impregnated  with  a  little  carbonaceous 
matter.  Impure  as  these  strata  are,  they  are  nevertheless,  without  doubt,  the 
exact  equivalent  of  the  coal  beds  of  Monte  Diablo. 

The  Monte  Diablo  mines  are  located  in  a  range  of  hills  lying  north  and  north- 
east of  the  mountain,  along  a  nearly  east  and  west  outcrop.  The  coal  has  been 
found  for  five  or  six  miles  in  a  nearly  continuous  line,  although  not  more  than 
three  miles  of  this  extent  has  as  yet  proved  of  sufficient  value  to  render  mining 
profitable.  The  veins  have  been  somewhat  disturbed  by  faults,  and  I  have 
reason  to  believe,  from  some  examinations  I  made  in  1862,  that  beyond  certain 
limits  they  thin  out  rapidly.  This  is  markedly  the  case  to  the  west  of  the  Pea- 
cock mine. 

The  deposit  in  this  region  consists  of  two  veins,  the  lower  of  four  feet  thick, 
known  as  the  "Peacock  "  or  "  Cumberland  "  vein  ;  the  other,  of  three  feet  thick, 
called  the  "  Clark  "  vein.  These  two  veins,  named  after  the  first  mines  in  which 
they  were  first  well  explored,  are  separated  by  about  three  hundred  feet  in  thick- 
ness of  sandstones. 

A  number  of  mines  have  been  opened  at  various  points  along  the  outcrops  of 
the  two  veins,  the  principal  of  which  are  the  Cumberland  and  Black  Diamond, 
the  Clark,  Cruikshanks,  Adams,  Independent,  Manhattan,  and  Peacock.  In 
some  of  these  veins  work  has  been  suspended,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  Peacock 
mine,  where  the  vein  was  found  so  much  disturbed  as  to  be  of  little  value.  In 
others,  work  has  been  prosecuted  with  considerable  vigor,  and,  as  the  shipments 
to  San  Francisco  show,  with  some  success.  The  greatest  drawback  to  the  profit- 
able working  of  these  mines  has  been  the  cost  of  land  carriage  from  the  mines 
to  a  shipping  point  on  the  San  Joachim  river.  Formerly  the  coal  was  hauled 
from  the  mines  to  a  shipping  point  on  the  river,  a  distance  varying  from  six  to 
nine  miles.  Recently,  however,  two  railroads  have  been  completed,  one  ter- 


WEST    OF   THE    EOCKY    MOUNTAINS.  191 

initiating  at  New  York,  the  other  near  Antioch,  thereby  very  materially  dimin- 
ishing thn  most  important  expenses  to  which  the  proprietors  of  the  mines  were 
subjected. 

High  hopes  were  at  one  time  built  on  the  coal  discoveries  in  Corral  Hollow, 
some  thirty  miles  south  of  Monte  Diablo,  on  the  east  face  of  the  Coast  range. 
Several  mines  were  opened  and  much  money  expended.  In  fact  a  small  quan- 
tity of  coal  was  carried  thence  to  San  Francisco,  but  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 
ascertained  by  careful  and  reliable  estimates  that  every  ton  of  coal  thus  deliv- 
ered in  San  Francisco  had  cost  the  proprietors  of  the  mines  over  one  hundred 
dollars,  ($1C-0,)  the  presumption  is  that  the  mines  are  of  but  little  commercial 
value.  There  is  here  at  least  one  bed  of  coal  of  considerable  size,  but  of  very 
poor  quality  and  variable  thickness.  Furthermore,  it  is  so  broken  and  twisted 
by  the  disturbing  farces  to  which  the  rocks  of  th,e  vicinity  have  been  subjected, 
that,  even  were  the  coal  good  in  quality,  the  vein  could  not  be  relied  on. 

On  the  southern  slope  of  the  San  Gabriel  mountains,  about  thirty-five  miles 
northeast  of  Los  Angeles,  is  a  locality  from  which  some  coal  has  been  obtained. 
I  saw  a  ton  or  more  in  a  blacksmith  shop  in  that  city  a  year  ago.  It  is  appa- 
rently a  little  below  the  average  of  west-coast  coals  in  quality,  is  soft,  and  some- 
what impure.  So  far  as  I  am  aware  the  locality  has  never  been  visited  by  a 
geologist,  and  we  have  no  definite  information  about  it,  though  the  general  fea- 
tures of  the  region  appear  to  point  to  the  same  geological  age  for  this  as  for  the 
Monte  Diablo  beds. 

The  distance  of  this  mine  from  water  transportation  must  render  it  valueless, 
at  least  to  the  present  generation. 

About  seven  miles  northeast  from  Oroville  is  a  small  bed  of  very  impure  coal. 
The  material  contains  so  much  earthy  matter  that  it  is  almost  a  question  of 
doubt  whether  it  would  not  be  more  proper  to  describe  it  as  carbonaceous  shale 
rather  than  as  coal.  Of  course  it  is  valueless  for  fuel,  though  I  was  informed 
in  1864  that  it  was  used  successfully  in  the  Oroville  gas-works  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  illuminating  gas. 

On  Eel  river,  about  three  or  four  miles  southwest  of  Round  valley,  Mendocino 
county,  is  a  bed  of  coal  about  ten  feet  thick,  striking  Hirectly  across  the  bed 
of  the  river  and  forming  a  little  cascade.  The  deposit  is  of  the  same  geological 
age  as  that  of  Monte  Diablo,  and  although  most  of  it  is  very  impure,  it  contains 
one  or  two  seams,  of  about  a  foot  thick  each,  of  excellent  quality. 

It  is,  however,  so  far  inland  and  so  completely  surrounded  by  high  and  rough 
mountains  that  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  it  will  ever  become  practically  available. 

In  addition  to  the  above  localities,  which  have  already  yielded  or  can  be  made 
to  yield  coal  in  quantity,  there  are  hundreds  of  places  scattered  all  over  Cali- 
fornia, especially  in  the  Coast  range,  where  small  quantities  of  coal  have  been 
found,  and  where,  at  the  same  time,  there  is  no  possible  chance  of  finding  it  in 
such  quantity  as  to  be  of  value.  The  miocene  rocks  contain  everywhere  small 
seams  of  coal  of  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  which,  like"  the  ignis  fatuus,  have 
led  on  the  unfortunate  miner  by  holding  constantly  before  his  eyes  the  dazzling 
promise  of  a  fortune  as  soon  as  the  "veins  come  together,"  or  when  he  shall  have 
gotten  "below  the  water  line" — prospects  always  in  'she  future,  often  implicitly 
believed  in,  and  never  realized.  The  little  inch- veins,  often  very  numerous  and 
quite  close  together,  never  unite,  but  have  been  known  to  run  parallel  for  many 
yards — in  fact,  as  far  as  the  patience  and  money  of  the  "  prospector"  would  ex- 
tend. 

The  coals  of  the  west  coast  are,  like  all  coals  of  the  later  geological  formations, 
soft,  more  or  less  friable,  and  contain  considerable  water.  Compared  with  true 
carboniferous  coal,  such  as  Pennsylvanian  or  English,  they  give  less  heat,  and 
the  loss  is  far  greater  by  breakage  in  handling. 

The  following  table  of  analyses  of  various  coals  on  this  coast  is  extracted  from 
the  report  of  Professor  Whitney,  State  geologist  of  California.  The  professor 


192 


RESOURCES   OF  STATES   AND   TEKRITOKIES 


remarks  that  these  analyses  were  made  in  1861  and  1862,  and  are  from  speci- 
mens taken  at  no  very  great  depth : 


Mount  Diablo,  California.  - 

Bellingham  bay, 
Washington  Ter. 

Nanaimo,  Vancou- 
ver's island. 

a 

o 
to 

s 

O 

1 

3 

i 

8 
& 

o 

cJ 

5ii 
•P 

J 

« 

Cumberland. 

& 

o 

B  . 

fjj 

o 
0 

Water  

13.47 
40.36 
40.  65 
5.52 

14.69 
33.89 
46.84 

4.58 

13.84 
40.27 
44.  92 
0.97 

14.13 
37.38 
44.55 
3.94 

20.53 
35.  62 
36.35 
7.50 

8.39 
33.26 
45.69 
12.66 

2.98 
32.16 
46.31 
18.55 

20.09 
32.  59 
41.98 
5.34 

Bituminous  substances  -  .  . 
Fixed  carbon  

Ash  

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  great  similarity  between  all  of  the  coals 
produced  on  this  coast.  There  is  probably,  however,  one  weak  point  in  the 
table.  The,  Nanaimo  coal  is  here  shown  to  have  a  very  large  quantity  of  ash  as 
compared  with  the  California  and  Oregon  coals.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
analysis  may  have  been  based  on  a  poorer  specimen  than  the  average,  though 
Professor  Whitney  assures  me  that  it  looked  like  a  fair  sample. 

The  subjoined  table  exhibits  the  amount  of  coal  received  in  San  Francisco 
since  the  year  1860.  It  does  not,  however,  give  the  full  yield  of  all  the  mines, 
inasmuch  as  small  quantities  of  our  domestic  coals  are  shipped  to  inland  towns 
and  used  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that,  small  as 
the  figures  are,  the  demand  is  steadily  increasing,  and  the  facilities  are  good  for 
supplying  this  demand  for  many  years  to  come  : 

Imports  of  coal  into  San  Francisco  since  1860. 


1860. 

1861. 

1862. 

1863. 

1864. 

1865. 

1st  9  montKs 
1865. 

1st  9  months 
1866. 

Foreign  coals  — 

Tons. 
7,650 
6,655 
6,640 
1,900 

Tons. 
23.  370 
6.  475 
23,  565 

12,,  495 

Tons. 
12,  590 
8,870 
16,  0:35 
5,110 

Tons. 
16,  890 
5.745 
14!  660 
1,790 

'Ton's. 
21,  160 
12,  785 
18,  330 
2,  323 

Tons. 
17,610 
16,  190 
9,  655 
1,410 
810 

Tons. 
9,144 
•8,  551 
5,  959 

Casks. 

1 
Tons.     ;  Casks. 
34,484  j  
7,1.80  !..  
5.131  i  
1,480  i  

Vancouver  
English 

Chili 

Unspecified 

• 

Eastern- 
Am  hracite  
Cumberland  

Domestic  — 
Belling-haui  bay.  .  . 
Coos  bay  
Monte  Diablo  

23,  045 

65,  905 

42,  625 

39,085 

54,  600 

45,  675     23,  654 



48,375  !  

34,  985 
5,970 

40,  955 

26,  060 
2,975 

36,  685 
4,970 

41,  655 

38,  660 
5,670 

41,  680 

7,  275 

48,  955 

22,585 
4,  230 

20,  638 
20 

2,858" 

6,293    
6,  834     3,  604 

29.  035 

44,  330 

26,  815 

20,  658 

2,  858 

13,  127     3,  604 

5,490 
3,  145 

10,  055 
4.  630 
6,620 

10,050 
2,815 
23,  400 

7.750 
1,185 
43,  200 

11,  845 
1  200 
37,  450 

13,  700 
1,500 
58,  560 

8,000 
1,300 
39,  848 

9  590     



2,500    
54,087    

Grand  total... 

8,635 

21,305       36,265 

52,  135 

50,  495 

74,  760 

49.  148 

1  66,177    

72,  635 

116,  245 

120,  545 

135,  550 

154,  050 

147,  250 

93,  460 

2,558 

127,679  j  3,604 

9.--IKON. 

In  consequence  of  the  present  high  price  of  fuel  and  labor,  the  development 
of  the  iron  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast  has  not  received  as  much  attention  aa 
their  magnitude  and  importance  demand.  There  are  numberless  extensive  de* 
posits  of  all  descriptions  of  iron  ores  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  on  the 
coast.  Thus  far  there  has  been  but  one  furnace  erected  for  the  reduction  of 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  193 

this  ore  to  metal.  This  establishment  is  located  near  St.  Helens,  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  Columbia  river,  in  Oregon,  where  there  is  an  exceedingly  fine 
body  of  ore,  conveniently  located  with  reference  to  fuel  and  water  transporta- 
tion. Arrangements  are  in  progress  for  the  erection  of  similar  works  in  other 
places.  One  is  in  course  of  construction  in  Sierra  county,  California,  about 
fifteen  miles  above  Downieville,  where  there  is  a  very  large  body  of  ore,  which 
assays  from  60  to  75  per  cent.  There  is  some  talk  of  erecting  a  smelting  works 
in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  grains  of 
specular  iron  ore  found  in  great  abundance  among  the  eand  on  the  shores  of 
the  bay. 

The  consumption  of  pig-iron  in  California  is  rapidly  increasing,  as  the  demands 
for  machinery  multiply, 

In  1859  the  foundries  at  San  Francisco  consumed     5,  000  tons. 

1860 do do .......     6,  500   do. 

1861 do do 6,500  do. 

1862 do do 5,  000  do. 

1863 do...' do 10,000  do. 

1864 do do 14,000  do. 

1865 do do 20,000  do. 

1866 do do 20,000   do. 

There  is  probably  as  much  more  used  in  the  interior  of  that  State,  Nevada, 
and  Oregon. 

LIST  OF  THE  ORES  OF  METALS  FOUND  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST. 

Copper,  silver,  antimony,  manganese,  iron,  lead,  arsenic,  magnesium,  tin,  ziac, 
bismuth,  molybdenum,  chromium,  tellurium,  mercury,  nickel,  cobalt. 

NON-METALLIC   MINERALS. 

Marble,  alabaster,  sulphate  of  lime,  carbonate  of  lime,  kaolin,  pipe-clay, 
fullers'  earth,  sulphur,  borax,  fire-clay,  soapstones,  asbestos,  lithographers' 
stone,  petroleum,  asphaltum,  salt,  alum,  emery,  coal,  blacklead. 

BUILDING  MATERIALS. 

Granites,  sandstones,  limestones  and  marbles,  slates,  brick  clays,  &c. 

GEMS  AND  PRECIOUS  STONES. 

Diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  amethysts,  garnets,  beryl,  topaz,  agates,  jaspers, 
cornelians,  opals,  sapphires,  egmarin,  &c. 


SECTION  8. 

MINING  KBGION,  POPULATION,  ALTITUDE,  ETC. 

1.  Mining  region  and  mining  population. — 2.  Main  divisions.— 3.  Altitudes.— 4.  Climatft, — 
5.  Capacity  to  maintain  a  large  population. — 6.  Number  of  miners. — 7.  Timber. 

1.— THE  MINING  BEGION  AND  THE  MINING  POPULATION. 

All  that  portion  of  our  continent  west  of  the  Kocky  mountains  is,  we  may 
say  in  general  terms,  rich  in  minerals,  and  especially  in  gold,  silver,  and  cop- 
per. The  western  slope  of  Mexico  has  produced  more  silver  during  the  last 
three  hundred  years  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Arizona  has  rich  placers 
and  valuable  veins  of  silver  and  copper;  Nevada  has  silver;  California,' gold, 
silver,  and  copper;  Oregon,  gold;  Idaho, .gold  and  silver;  Montana  and  British 
Columbia,  gold.  The  lower  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Columbia  and  the  upper 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 13 


194  EESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

part  of  the  basin  of  the  Colorado  are  comparatively  poor.  The  richest  mines  in 
the  interior  basin  are  of  silver-  the  richest  iu  the  basins  that  open  to  the  sea 
are  of  gold. 

2.— MAIN  DIVISIONS. 

The  American  territory  on  the  Pacific  slope  has  an  area  of  900,000  square 
miles,  and  is  divided  by  well  marked  topographical  features  into  four  main 
divisions  : 

1.  The  coast,  which  includes  a  strip  about  150  miles  Vide,  west  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  Cascade  mountains. 

2.  The  basin  of  the  Colorado,  which  includes  all  of  Arizona  and  the  eastern 
and  southern  parts  of  Utah. 

3.  The  basin  of  the  upper  Columbia,  which  includes  nearly  all  of  Idaho  and 
portions  of  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  Utah,  and  Montana. 

4.  The  interior  basin,  which  includes  most  of  Nevada  and  Utah  and  parts  of 
Oregon  and  Idaho. 

These  divisions,  or  basins,  are  separated  from  one  another  by  high  mountain 
ranges,  but  the  only  divide  which  has  been  carefully  traced  and  laid  down  on 
the  maps  is  that  east  of  the  coast  basin.  The  ridges  which  separate  the  interior 
basin  from,  the  Columbia  on  the  north,  and  from  the  Colorado  on  the  south, 
have  not  been  precisely  laid  down.  The  interior  basin  is  divided  up  into  a 
number  of  independent  minor  basins,  all  of  which  are  high,  arid,  and,  in  their 
natural  condition,  desolate;  although  there  are  a  few  valleys  which  by  the  hand 
of  man  have  been  irrigated  and  cultivated.  Along  the  coast  considerable  quan- 
tities of  rain  fall;  the  surface  of  the  earth  is,  in  the  low  lands,  covered  by  a 
deep  mould,  and  there  is  a  luxurious  vegetation,  especially  in  Oregon  and 
Washington,  where  the  forests,  on  the  mountains  are  so  dense  that  there  is  little 
hope  for  the  discovery  of -minerals  among  them.  But  in  the  basins  of  the  in- 
terior, the  upper  Columbia  and  the  Colorado,  there  is  little  mould  or  vegetation ; 
the  mountains  are  steep,  the  rocks  are  bare,  and  mineral  veins  are  readily  found 
and  traced. 

The  poverty  of  the  country  in  agricultural  resources  is  the  cause  of  one  of 
its  great  advantages  for  mining. 

3.-ALTITUDES. 

The  American  mining  regions  of  the  Pacific  slope,  like  most  of  those  else- 
where, are  mountainous.  The  gold  mines  of  California  are  at  various  eleva- 
tions— from  500  to  6,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  Sierra  Nevada 
rises  in  many  places  to  a  height  of  9,000  feet,  or  even  more;  and  from  the 
comb  of  the  ridge  to  the  level  land  of  the  valley,  the  distance  in  a  direct  line 
is  from  forty  to  fifty  miles;  and  the  descent  of  the  streams,  with  all  their  bends, 
is  more  than  a  hundred  feet  to  the  mile.  With  the  rapidity  of  current  conse- 
quent on  such  a  descent,  they  have  worn  very  deep  channels,  leaving  steep  and 
high  intermediate  hills.  It  is  on  the  side  of  the  mountains  thus  cut  into  great 
canons  that  most  of  the  mining  of  California  is  done.  The  average  elevation 
of  the  placers  of  the  Sacramento  basin  may  be  estimated  at  2,000  feet.  The 
lowest  mining  towns  never  have  snow  or  ice  for  more  than  a  day  or  two  at  a 
time,  while  in  the  highest  the  snow  lies  every  year  four  or  five  months;  and 
racing  on  snow-shoes  is  one  of  the  common  winter  amusements.  The  mines  in 
the  valley  of  Klamath  river  are  at  an  elevation  of  about  2,500  feet.  The  silver 
mines  of  Kearsarge,  in  California,  are  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  silver 
mines  of  Alpine  county  are  6,000  feet  high.  The  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode 
are  from  5,500  to  6,500  feet  high.  The  Eeese  River  mines  have  an  elevation 
of  about  7,000  feet.  The  Idaho  mines  vary  in  height  from  3,000  to  6,000  feet, 
The  mines  of  Arizona  are  at  various  elevations — from  300  to  3,000  feet.  Those 


WEST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  195 

on  the  banks  of  the  Colorado  river  are  probably  as  near  the  level  of  the  sea  as 
any  in  the  world.  The  quicksilver  mine  of  New  Almaden  is  1,000  feet  above 
the  sea. 

The  following  are  the  elevations  in  feet  above  the  sea  of  some  of  the  principal 
mining  tewns : 

Placerville 1,  800 

Auburn 1,  200 

.  Dutch  flat 2,  943 

Nevada,  California . .  ^ 2,  573 

Brandy  City 3,  592 

Eureka,  Sierry  county t , .  5,  223 

Sierra  Buttes  mine 7,  000 

Nelson's  Point 3,  858 

Quincy ". 3,  500 

Shasta  City 1,  159 

Murphy's 2,  201 

Silver  Mountain 6,  516 

Markleville 6,  306 

Mogul f. 8, 650 

Silver  City 4,  911 

Virginia  City,  Nevada 6,  205 

Como,  Nevada 6,  600 

Colorado,  at  Mohave  crossing 356 

Great  Salt  Lake  city v  .  4,  351 

Herschel  lays  down  the  rule  that  the  temperature  sinks  one  degree  of  Fah- 
renheit for  each  350  feet  of  elevation.* 

'     4:— CLIMATE. 

In  the  coal  mining  districls  of  Monte  Diablo,  and  at  the  quicksilver  mine  of  New 
Alinaden,  the  climate  is  very  mild  and  equable.  The  sea  breeze  is  felt  nearly 
every  summer  day,  and  a  temperature  of  90°  is  rare.  The  heat  of  the  sun's 
rays  is  broken  by  the  cool  winds  and  fogs  from  the  ocean,  and  the  evenings  are 
invariably  cool,  so  that  though  light  cotton  garments  may  be  pleasant  for  wear 
at  noon,  woollen  are  in  demand  before  sunset,  and  every  night,  even  in  July 
and  August,  good  blankets  are  prized. 

In  winter  ice  is  seldom  formed,  and  not  once  in  a  year  does  it  last  through  a 
day,  and  if  snow  falls  it  is  only  on  high  peaks.  Skating,  snow-balling,  and 
sleigh-riding  are  amusements  which  cannot  be  enjoyed  here.  Fogs  are  not 
uncommon  in  the  summer,  but  they  always  disappear  after  the  sun  has  been 
up  a  few  hours,  and  two-thirds  of  the  days  of  the  year  are  cloudless.  There  is 
no  rain  from  May  to  November,  and  during  the  rainy  season  the  amount  of 
water  that  falls  is  twenty-two  inches,  or  about  half  of  the  quantity  that  falls 
at  New  York  or  Philadelphia  in  a  year.  Thunder  and  lightning  are  very 
rare,  and  such  violent  electric  storms  as  are  frequent  every  summer  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  are  unknown  on  the  coast  of  California.  It  may  safely  be  said 
that  no  climate  in  the  world  is  more  favorable  to  the  health  and  activity  of  man, 
or  more  conducive  to  the  comfort  of  the  laborer. 

As  we  leave  the  coast  the  moderating  influences  of  the  sea  breezes  are  lost, 
and  the  winters  are^.colder  and  the  summers  warmer.  At  the  lowest  mining 
camps  east  of  Sacramento,  although  the  winters  are  very  mild*  yet  ice  and 
saow  in  small  bodies  are  often  seen  for  two  or  three  eonsecutive  days,  and  the 
summers  are  intensely  hot ;  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  mining  districts  of  California 
the  summers  are  warm,  even  at  high  elevations,  especially  in  the  deep  canons, 

^Physical  Geography,  by  Sir  J.  F.  W  ~Herschel,  page  226. 


196  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

where  the  breezes  are  not  felt,  and  where  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  caught  by  steep 
rocks  and  reflected  down  upon  the  mining  camps  below. 

In  the  valleys  and  lower  part  of  the  mountains  the  heat  is  excessive  from 
May  to  October,  the  thermometer  standing  as  high  as  85°  or  90°  nearly  every 
day  for  month  after  month.  There  is  no  rain  usually  in  that  part  of  the  year ; 
the  sky  is  almost  cloudless ;  the  bare  earth  appears  to  be  perfectly  dry  during 
the  summer  and  fall ;  heats  are  therefore  higher  than  in  many  other  countries 
blessed  with  abundant  vegetation  and  frequent  showers  throughout  the  year  in 
the  same  latitude.  But  the  nights  are  always  cool,  especially  after  midnight ; 
and  as  we  rise  in  latitude  on  the  mountain  sides,  we  find  neither  frosts  nor  snows, 
and  the  summers  are  shorter  and  cool  days  more  frequent.  At  Yreka,  with  an 
altitude  of  two  thousand  "five  hundred  feet,  frosts  come  even  in  July;  and 
in  the  latitude  of  San  Francisco,  frosts  occur  every  month  at  an  altitude  of 
about  five  thousand  feet,  and  snow  lies  on  the  ground  for  seven  or  eight  months 
of  the  year.  In  the  higher  mining  camps  of  Sierra  county  the  snow  lies  from 
five  to  ten  feet  deep,  every  winter,  for  months,  and  the  miners  shovel  the  snow 
from  the  roofs  of  their  cabins  to  save  them  from  being  crushed  by  the  weight ; 
and  cut  tunnels  under  the  snow  from  cabin  to  cabin,  and  provide  snow  shoes  so 
they  can  travel  over  the  surface  of  the  snow  if  necessary.  During  a  large 
part  of  the  year  the  country  is  arctic  in  its  appearance,  and  the  climate  is  arctic 
in  its  temperature. 

In  the  lower  mining  districts  of  the  southern  part  of  Sacramento  basin  the 
heat  is  almost  torrid.  At  Millerton,  in  the  San  Joaquin  foot-hills,  the  mean 
temperature  for  three  summer  months  has  been  as  high  as  106°,  and  occasionally 
there  are  winds  so  hot  that  they  blister  the  skin.  The  amount  of  rain  in  Cali- 
fornia increases  as  we  rise  in  altitude  and  latitude.  That  is  a  general  rule. 
Thus/ at  San  Diego,  in  latitude  32°,  the  annual  rain-fall  is  11  inches;  at  San 
Francisco,  in  latitude  37°  48',  it  is  22  inches ;  and  at  Humboldt  Bay,  in  lati- 
tude 4°  46',  it  is  34  inches.  Those  places  are  all  at  the  level  of  the  sea  and  on 
the  sea-coast ;  five  additional  inches  of  rain  may  be  added  for  each  thousand 
feet  of  altitude.  So  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  latitude  of  San  Francisco  places 
at  the  height  of  2,000  feet  on  the  sierra  have  32  inches  of  annual  rain-fall ; 
places  4,000  feet  high  have  42  inches  ;  those  6,000  have  52  inches ;  and  those 
3,000  feet  G2  inches.  These  are  general  deductions  from  numerous  observa- 
tions taken  at  different  points ;  but  they  must  not  be  regarded  as  precise  and 
invariable.  The  higher  the  altitude  the  greater  the  difference  in  the  rain-fall  of 
different  years,  and  the  stronger  the  influence  of  topographical  features  in  de- 
termining the  amount  of  fall  within  a  limited  area. 

Much  more  water  usually  falls  on  that  side  of  a  mountain  from  which  the 
storm  comes  than  on  the  other.  At  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet,  and  higher,  large 
quantities  of  snow  fall ;  but  in  the  estimate  of  the  amount  of  rain  on  the  moun- 
tains given  above,  a  foot  of  snow  is  equivalent  to  a  little  more  than  an  inch  of 
water.  But  north  af  California,  or  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  we  come  into 
other  climates.  At  Fort  Yuma,  100  miles  east  of  San  Diego,  only  one-third  as 
much  rain  falls  as  at  the  latter  place,  and  most  of  the  rains  come,  not  in  the 
winter,  but  in  the  summer.  The  rainy  season  of  Arizona  and  the  Colorado  val- 
ley is  the  dry  season  of  the  coast  of  California.  All  through  Arizona  the 
climate  is  dry  and  the  summers  hot,  but  the  winters  are  exceedingly  cold  in 
some  of  the  higher  mining  districts. 

Nevada  and  Utah  are  high,  dry,  arid,  and  desolate.  The  evaporation  equals 
the  rain-fall,  and  therefore  no  water  can  be  spared  for  the  ocean,  but  all  is 
swallowed  up  in  sinks  or  lakes,  in  basins  surrounded  by  mountains  on  every  side. 
If  the  fall  exceeded  the  evaporation,  the  waters  would  rise  until  the  basin  would 
overflow,  and  at  the  outlet  a  channel  would  be  worn  through  the  mountains 
until  much  of  the  inner  lakes  were  drained,  and  at  the  bottom  of  that  lake  large 
bodies  of  sand,  gravel,  and  loam  would  be  deposited,  suitable  for  the  support  of 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


197 


vegetation,  when  at  last  it  should  rise  above  tlie  water  in  consequence  of  the  in- 
creasing depth  of  the  channel  at  the  gap  iii  the  mountains.  The  valley  of  the 
upper  Colorado  looks  as  if  it  had  once  been  converted  into  a  great  lake  by  the 
elevation  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  but  the  river  cut  a  channel  at  the  Dalles 
before  a  sufficient  quantity  of  soil  had  been  deposited  over  the  basin,  and  so  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  desolate.  There  is  nuich  resemblance  between  the  climates 
.of  Idaho  and  Nevada.  The  summers  are  very  warm,  the  winters  are  cold,  and 
the  fall  of  rain  scanty,  but  the  rain-fall  is  greater  in  Idaho  than  in  Nevada. 

The  following  figures  show  the  temperature  for  each  month  aHd  for  the  year 
at  various  towns  in  or  near  mining  districts  : 


* 
Latitudes. 

January. 

February. 

""5 

03 

a 

! 

^ 

1 

OJ 

g 
p 

ha 

t>> 
hj 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

Benicia 

0      / 

38  03 

47 

52 

53 

57 

59 

67 

67 

66 

64 

69, 

54 

47 

Fort  "\IilVr 

37 

47 

53 

56 

62 

68 

83 

30 

83 

76 

67 

55 

48 

Fort  Residing' 

40  28 

41 

49 

51 

59 

65 

77 

ft-> 

79 

71 

fr> 

53 

41 

Fort  Yuma  ......  ...... 

3-2.  43 

56 

5H 

66 

73 

76 

87 

89, 

90 

80 

76 

64 

55 

Fort  Jones 

4J  36 

31 

37 

43 

49 

54 

61 

71 

68 

69 

57 

41 

39, 

Sacramento 

38  34 

45 

43 

51 

59 

67 

71 

7>:> 

73 

66 

64 

59 

45 

Grass  valley 

07 

37 

3H 

44 

40 

52 

63 

58 

53 

43 

36 

46 

Meadow  valley       ..... 

39  56 

B4 

39, 

41 

61 

66 

71 

68  , 

57 

59 

44 

39 

Fort  Wall    

43  04 

^\ 

94 

95 

42 

63 

59 

48 

99 

Dalles  

Salt  Lake  City 

45.  36 

40  46 

33 

97 

40 
35 

46 

39 

53 

50 

59 
65 

67 
71 

73 

HI 

70 

61 

53 

41 
41 

33 
31 

46  27 

31 

38 

40 

52 

59 

63 

70 

72 

6't 

48 

41 

40 

Fort  Defiance     ... 

35  44 

96 

30 

38 

46 

51 

64 

f,9 

67 

56 

46 

35 

99 

The  following  table  shows  the  rain- fall  at  a  few  points  and  in  inches  : 


Spring. 

Summer. 

Autumn. 

Winter. 

Total. 

Sacramento         .  .           ..     ..     .... 

7.01 

0.00 

2  61 

12.  11 

21.73 

Fort  Ytima 

0  27 

1  30 

0  86 

0  72 

3.15 

Fort  Miller 

9  57 

0  02 

2  80 

9  79. 

22  18 

Fort  Miller  

11.30 

0.39 

4.89 

12.  44 

29.  02 

Fort  Jones                    .                 ............ 

5  38 

0.89 

5  30 

5  20 

16.  77 

Fort  Defiance 

2  91 

6  45 

4  84 

2  97 

37.  17 

Dalles 

2  63 

0  42 

3  78 

6  98 

13.81 

The  cost  of  living  is  high  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  Flour  and  beef  are  usually  sold  in  San  Francisco  for  about  the 
same  price  demanded  in  New  York ;  but  transportation  to  the  mines  is  very 
expensive,  and  the  commissions  and  profits  of  traders  are  large.  To  Austin 
the  freight  in  summer  by  wagon  is  seven  to  ten  cents  per  pound  from  Sacra- 
mento ;  to  Virginia  city,  three  and  one-quarter  cents ;  from  Marysville  to  Quincy, 
two  and  one-quarter  cents ;  to  Grass  valley,  one-half  of  a  cent ;  to  Downieville, 
one  cent  and  a  third.  The  freight  from  San  Francisco  to  La  Paz,  on  the  Colo- 
rado, is  about  one  and  a  half  cent  per  pound ;  and  to  the  Idaho  mines,  about 
seven  cents  per  pound.  In  the  winter  freights  rise,  and  there  is  then  no  limit 
to  them,  save  the  needs  and  the  purse  of  the  shipper.  The  mining  counties  of 
California  now  grow  nearly  all  the  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  some  of  the  grain, 
consumed  by  the  miners ;  but  all  the  clothing,  fine  tools,  fine  furniture,  and 
many  articles  of  food  are  brought  from  the  valleys  or  seaport. 

In  consequence  of  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads  in  the  winter  and  the  un-. 


198  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

settled  character  of  the  population  the  supply  is  frequently  unequal  to  the  de- 
mand, and  then  prices  go  to  high  figures,  especially  in  the  remoter  district.  The 
cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life  generally  for  laboring  men  is  three  times  as  great 
in  the  mining  counties  of  California  as  in  the  interior  counties  of  New  York, 
and  from  four  to  six  times  in  Nevada,  Idaho,  and  Arizona. 

5.— CAPACITY  TO  MAINTAIN  A  LARGE  POPULATION. 

California  can  maintain  a  large  population.  In  many  respects  the  State  re- 
sembles Spain.  It  has  a  similar  climate,  soil  and  size,  and  should  support  as 
many  inhabitants.  The  population  of  Spain  is  at  present  fourteen  millions,  and 
under  the  Moorish  dominion  many  valleys  which  are  npw  bare  and  desolate 
were  well  tilled  and  densely  populated.  Spain  has  188,000  square  miles,  and 
California  160,000,  and  our  State  has  sources  of  wealth  which  the  Spanish 
peninsula  kas  not.  The  Sacramento  basin  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  Lom- 
bardy,  which  has  the,  densest  population  and  most  thorough  tillage  of  Eiirope. 
In  an  area  of  6,000  square  miles  three  millions  of  people  are  collected ;  and 
they  are  noted  for  physical  beauty  and  intellectual  activity ;  hence  it  does  not 
appear  that  their  crowded  condition  has  done  them  harm.  A  large  part  of  the 
wealth  of  the  Lombards  is  derived  directly  and  indirectly  from  irrigation,  which 
they  have  earned  further  than  any  other  nation.  The  Alps  there  rise  to  an 
average  height  of  6,000  feet,  from  their  northern  boundary  along  a  line  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles,  and  the  snow  which  falls  in  these  mountains  furnishes 
the  water  for  many  of  the  most  valuable  canals.  The  Sacramento  basin  has  an 
area  of  25,0.00  square  miles,  lying  along  the  foot  of  a  mountain  range  400  miles 
long  and  10,000  feet  high  on  an  average.  The  low  lands  of  the  basin  has  a  soil 
as  fertile  and  a  climate  as  genial  as  that  of  Lombardy.  The  amount  of  moist- 
ure from  rain  is  not  so  great  in  the  valley,  but  that  obtainable  from  the  moun- 
tains is  greater.  The  Lombards  have  natural  lakes  that  serve  as  admirable  res- 
ervoirs ;  but  the  Californians  can  make  lakes  by  throwing  dams  across  the 
canons.  The  vine,  the  silk- worm,  and  rice,  which  contribute  much  to  the  wealth 
of  the  valley  of  the  Po,  will  thrive  at  least  as  well  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacra- 
mento. When,  in  addition  to  these  agricultural  resources,  we  consider  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  the  commercial  advantages  of  the 
terminus  of  the  Pacific  railroad,  the  central  position  between  China  and  New 
York,  and  between  Oregon  and  Mexico,  we  are  justified  in  the  conclusion  that 
California  can  well  support  a  population  of  ten  or  fifteen  millions. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


199 


6.— -NUMBER  OF  MINERS. 


The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  miners  of  different  classes  in  certain 
counties  of  California,  as  estimated  by  well-informed  persons  in  those  counties, 
the  limited  time  for  the  preparation  of  this  report  not  permitting  more  than  an 
estimate  on  this  point : 


Total  number  of 
white  miners. 

Total  number  of 
Chinese  miners. 

Number  of  gold 
quartz  miners. 

Hydraulic  miners. 

1 

is 
*i 

6 

Silver  miners. 

Copper  miners. 

Del  Norte 

250 

300 

100 

350 

100 

Klamath            

700 

300 

100 

50 

850 

100 

Trinity 

700 

1,500 

100 

500 

1  600 

2,500 

500 

300 

200 

2,500 

Shasta 

1  000 

300 

SCO 

100 

1  000 

100 

100 

Plumas       .    

1,000 

400 

300 

300 

700 

100 

Butte                    .... 

3,000 

1,500 

200 

300 

2  000 

Sierra 

2  500 

1  500 

500 

800 

2  700 

Nevada 

300" 

1  500 

2  000 

1  000 

1  100 

300 

100 

Yuba  

1,000 

1,000 

300 

300 

1,300 

100 

Placer  

1,800 

1,500 

300 

600 

2,  350 

50 

El  Dorado             

2  000 

3  000 

300 

500 

4  150 

50 

Alpine           .           . 

400 

400 

Amador 

1  200 

1  500 

400 

200 

1  600 

500 

Calaveras  .  

2,500 

2,000 

500 

500 

2  500 

1  000 

Tn  oln  rn  TIG  — 

2  000 

1  500 

500 

300 

2  400 

300 

Mariposa                 « 

1  000 

I  500 

500 

100 

1  600 

300 

Merced 

50 

100 

150 

200 

100 

300 

150 

300 

50 

400 

Mono  .     ....     ......_ 

200 

100 

N      100 

Kern 

400 

200 

200 

Ingo.  .. 

200 

200 

Total    

25  750 

20  800 

7  150 

5  850 

29  550 

1  300 

2  700 

• 

7«— TIMBER* 

The  mining  counties  of  California  are  generally  supplied  with  abundant  tim- 
ber for  present  uses.  The  forests,  from  3,500  to  5,500  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  are  very  dense,  and  are 
composed  of  magnificent  conifers,  many  of  which  have  a  diameter  of  five  feet 
or  more,  and  a  height  of  200  or  250  feet.  The  sugar  pine  and  the  Douglas 
spruce,  both  valuable  for  lumber,  are  large  and  abundant.  These  dense  forests 
are,  however,  higher  up  than  most  of  the  mining  districts,  which  are  found 
among  hills  covered  with  scattered  oak  and  nut  pine.  In  the  vicinity  of  the 
chief  mining  towns  the  trees  have  been  destroyed  in  a  ruthless  manner,  and 
many  hills  that  were  once  well  timbered  are  now  bare.  There  was  no  private 
owner  for  the  land,  and  the  timber  was  wasted  in  many  cases  ;  trees  were  cut 
down  for  fire  wood,  and  onty  the  branches  were  taken  because  by  that  means 
the  wood-chopper  could  cut  more  wood  than  if  he  split  up  the  tough  trunk. 
This  course  was  profitable  to  the  woodman,  but  bad  for  the  State ;  and  nume- 
rous complaints  were  made  until  1864,  when  the  legislature  made  it  a  criminal 
offence  to  destroy  the  timber  in  this  manner,  although  permitting  any  one  to 
cut  the  timber  on  the  public  land  for  firewood  or.  other  useful  purposes  in  an 
economical  manneu. 


200  RESOURCES    OF   STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

In  the  northwestern  corner  of  California  and  the  southwestern  corner  of  Ore- 
gon the  forests  are  so  dense  in  several  of  the  mineral  districts  that  they  inter- 
fere greatly  with  mining,  and  will  prevent  the  exhaustion  of  the  auriferous  de- 
posits for  many  years.  In  eastern  Oregon  and  in  Idaho  there  is  enough  timber 
to  supply  the  miners  for  many  years.  In  Nevada  and  in  western  Arizona  there 
is  a  great  scarcity,  and  wood  can  be  obtained  in  few  places  without  high  ex- 
pense. Good  firewood  costs  from  two  to  four  dollars  per  cord  in  most  of  the 
mining  towns  of  California,  and  from  ten  dollars  upwards  in  Nevada. 


SECTION   9. 

Annotated  catalogue  of  tlie  principal  mineral  species  hitherto  recognized  in  Cal- 
ifornia, and  the  adjoining  States  and  Territories :  by  William  P.  Blalte. 
March,  1866. 

Actinolite. — Occurs  with  garnets  in  steatite  at  Petaluma. 

Alabaster. — In  Los  Angeles  county.  Specimen  in  cabinet  of  the  author,  re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Tyson,  of  Arizona. 

Andalusite. — Mariposa  county.  In  the  drift  of  the  Chowchillas  river,  near 
the  old  road  to  Fort  Miller,  there  is  a  great  abundance  of  fine  crystals  of  anda- 
lusite  which  show  the  dark  lines  or  crosses  in  a  remarkably  perfect  and  interest- 
ing manner.  They  are  found  also  in  the  stratum  of  conglomerate  which  caps 
the  hills  along  the  stream,  and  are  doubtless  in  place  in  the  slates  a  little  higher 
"up  the  river. 

Smaller  and  less. perfect  "  macles  "  occur  in  the  slates  at  Hornitos,  on  the 
road  to  Bear  valley.  Some  of  the  specimens  from  the  Chowchillas  river  re- 
semble those  from  Lancaster,  Massachusetts. 

Antimony,  (sulphur -et  of.)  — (See  Stibnite.) 

Antimony  ochre. — San  Amcdio  mountain,  with  antimony-glance. 

Agates  and  carnelian. — Beautiful  pebbles  of  agate  and  carnelian  are  abund- 
ant along  the  beach  at  and  near  Crescent  City.  They  are  much  water-worn, 
and  are  generally  of  light  colors.  Larger  pebbles  and  more  highly  colored  are 
abundant  in  the  pebbly  drift  along  the  Colorado  river.  Small  but  very  smoothly 
worn  specimens  of  agate  and  jasper  may  be  picked  up  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Tahoe. 

Arsenic. — Monterey  county,  at  the  Alisal  mines,  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
Mission  of  San  Carlos. 

Arsenical  antimony. — Ophir  mine,  Nevada  Territory.  In  reniform,  finely 
crystalline,  somewhat  radiated  masses,  of  a  color  between  tin-white  and  iron- 
black,  on  a  fresh  fracture,  but  grayish  black  from  tarnishing ;  associated  with 
arsenolite,  calcite,  and  quartz. — (F.  A.  Gentfi,  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  (2)  xxxiii,  190.) 

Arsenolite. — Occurs  in  large  masses,  with  native  gold,  at  the  Armagosa  mine, 
Great  Basin.  It  is  also  reported  from  the  Ophir  mine  with  arsenical  antimo- 
ny.— (Genth.) 

Asbestos. — Calaveras  county,  Salt  Spring  valley,  at  the  Kentucky  claim. 
Los  Angeles  county  (?)  in  large  masses.  (From  Major  Stroebel.) 

Azurite,  (blue  carbonate  of  copper.) — In  fine  crystalline  groups  and  masses, 
with  malachite,  at  Hughes's  mine,  Calaveras  county.  (1861.) 

Biotite. — From  the  vicinity  of  Grass  valley.     (Cabinet  of  C.  W.  Smith.) 

Bitumen. — Occurs  abundantly  in  numerous  places  in  the  coast  mountains, 
south  of  San  Francisco,  but  especially  south  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Los  Angeles.  It  is  frequently  seen  floating  in  the  Santa  Barbara 
channel.  It  is  abundant  in  Tulare  county,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Tulare  val- 


WEST  OP  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  201 

ley,  near  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes,  and  at  this  and  other  localities  is  associ- 
ated with  petroleum,  (which  see.) 

Blende  occurs  sparingly  in  many  of  the  gold-bearing  quartz  veins  of  the 
State,  especially  when  lead  is  present,  as,  for  example,  at  the  Princeton  mine, 
Mariposa  estate;  the  Adelaide  mine,  Hay  ward  &  Chamberlain's  mine,  and  in 
several  of  the  Grass  valley  mines  in  Nevada  county ;  at  Meadow  lake,  in  con- 
siderable masses,  with  galena,  iron  pyrites,  and  copper  pyrites.  It  is  associated 
with  yellow  copper  in  the  Napoleon  mine  and  the  Lancha  Plana ;  in  Sacra- 
mento county,  at  Michigan  bar,  associated  with  galena,  oxide  of  iron,  and  cop- 
per ore.  (Cabinet  of  Dr.  Erey.)  Placer  county,  fifteen  miles  from  Lincoln, 
towards  Nevada*  with  galena  and  gold;  at  the  Bloom  claim,  near  Angels  camp, 
Calaveras  county ;  also  in  a  quartz  vein  in  Coulterville. 

Borax. — Lake  county,  in  large  crystals  in  the  clay  of  the  Borax  lake. 

Boracic  acid. — Clear  lake,  Lake  county. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia. — (See  Magnesite.} 

Carbonate  of  soda. — San  Bernardino  county,  at  Soda  lake,  sink  of  the  Mo- 
have  river ;  in  Tulare  county,  along  the  borders  of  the  smaller  lakes,  when  dry- 
ing up ;  at  the  borders  of  the  Santa  Anna  river,  near  San  Bernardino. 

Cassiterite. — San  Bernardino  county,  at  the  "  Temescal  tin  region,"  about 
sixty  miles  faom  Los  Angeles.  Occurs  in  many  veins  associated  with  schorl  (?) 
traversing  granite.  In  most  of  the  ores  the  tin  oxide  is  found  only  by  crushing 
and  washing.  At  the  "Gun  lode"  a  peculiar  drab-colored  oxide  is  found  in 
considerable  quantities.  It  appears  to  be  liberated  by  the  decomposition  of  an 
arsenical  ore,  arsenic  being  abundant  in  the  samples.  The  oxide,  as  collected 
in  that  region  for  examination,  is  in  various  degrees  of  purity,  and 'exhibits  dif- 
ferent colors.  Some  of  the  samples  obtained  by  washing  are  black,  others 
brown,  and  some  red  and  drab-colored. 

Idaho  Territory,  on  Jordan  creek,  in  placers,  in  beautiful  rounded  masses, 
from  one-eighth  to  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  very  pure  and  clean — the  variety 
known  as  wood  tin. — (Cabinet  of  the  author,  specimens  received  from  Charles 
T.  Blake,  esq.,  of  Idaho  City.) 

Mexico,  State  of  Durango:  wood  tin  of  great  purity  and  beauty  occurs 
abundantly  in  this  State.  It  closely  resembles  the  stream  tin  of  Idaho. 

Cerusite,  (carbonate  of  lead.) — In  large  crystals  resembling  those  from  Siberia, 
in  the  Russ  district  (1}  Great  Basin,  near  the  Mojave  river ;  Arizona,  in  heavy 
iucrusting  masses  upon  the  galena  of  the  Castle  Dome  district. 

Chalcedony. — Large  masses  of  white  chalcedony,  delicately  veined,  and  in 
mammillary  sheets,  occur  in  Monterey  county,  near  the  Panache's ;  on  Walker 
river,  Washoe;  and  of  a  fine  pink  color  near  Aurora,  Esmeralda.  In  pear- 
shaped  nodules  in  the  eruptive  rocks  between  Williamson's  Pass  and  Johnson's 
river,  Los  Angeles  county. 

Chalcopyrite,  (yellow  copper  ore.} — This  is  the  chief  ore  of  the  copper  mines 
of  California1,  as  it  is  likewise  of  the  mines  of  Cornwall,  England.  It  is  there- 
fore found  at  a  great  number  of  localities,  along  the  copper-bearing  belt  which 
stretches  in  a  nearly  unbroken  zone  from  Mariposa  county  northwesterly  to  Del 
Norte  county,  parallel  with  and  on  the  western  side  of  the  chief  gold-producing 
belt  of  the  State. 

In  Calaveras  county,  the  chief  localities  (for  the  massive  ore)  are :  The  Union, 
Keystone,  Empire,  Napoleon,  Campo  Seco,  and  Lancha  Plana  mines.  In  good 
crystals,  implanted  on  and  among  clear  quartz  crystals,  at  the  Noble  copper 
claim  on  Domingo  creek.  (Collection  of  Dr.  Jones,  Murphy's.)  In  Mariposa 
county,  the  La  Victoire  mines  in  Hunter's  valley,  and  Haskell's  claims,  below 
Mariposa  town,  and  claims  along  the  Chowchillas  river.  Amador  county,  at 
the  Newton  mine;  Eldorado  county,  at  the  Cosumnes  mine,  Hope  Valley 
mine,  at  the  Bunker  Hill  mine,  El  Dorado  Excelsior,  and  other  claims  at  and 
near  Pilot  Hill.  Plumas  county,  at  the  Genessee  and  Cosmopolitan  mines.  It 


202  RESOURCES   OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

occurs,  also,  in  small  quantities  in  Contra  Costa  county,  in  the  rocks  of  Mount 
Diablo  and  in  those  of  the  Coast  mountains  south  and  north  of  San  Francisco; 
in  Los  Angeles  county,  at  Richmond  district,  and  at  Big  Meadow  district,  both 
on  the  interior  slope  of  the  mountains  at  the  margin  of  the  Great  Basin. — ( Vide 
Geol.  Rec.,  Cal.,  p.  290  ) 

Lower  California :  a  few  leagues  south  of  San  Diego,  at  the  Winder  claims. 

Arizona:  at  the  Apache  Chief  mine,  after  getting  below  the  "surface"  ores. 
At  the  San  Pedro  mines,  near  Fort  Buchanan.  Near  Caborca,  in  northwestern 
Sonora. 

Chloride  of  silver. — At  the  mines  about  Austin,  Lander  county,  Nevada,  this 
species  is  abundant  in  the  surface  ores,  being  derived  from  the  decomposition  of 
the  mixed  sulphurets  of  silver  below  the  water  level.  It  was  also  found  in  the 
decomposed  ores  of  the  upper  portions  of  the  Comstock  lode,  and  is  common  to 
all  the  silver 'veins  of  the  Great  Basin.  Some  remarkably  fine  specimens  were 

obtained  at  the mine  in  Slate  Range  district,  California.   -  Occurs  also  in 

the  Willow  Springs  district,  and  in  the  veins  of  El  Dorado  canon,  Arizona. 

Chrysocolla, ,  (silicate  of  copper.} — Not  'common  in  California,  where  the 
sulphurets  in  decomposing  give  carbonates  and  oxides ;  but  in  Arizona,  along 
the  Colorado  river,  very  common  at  and"  near  the  surface  where  the  veins  con- 
taining copper  glance  are  decomposed.  Fine  specimens  were  taken  from  the 
Great  Central  claim,  about  twenty  miles  from  La  Paz  and  at  the  Blue  lode. 

Chromic  iron. — Monterey  county,  in  masses,  with  green  crusts  and  coatings 
of  emerald  nickel.  Santa  Clara  county,  near  the  North  Almaden  mine. 

Chrysolite. — In  serpentine,  near  San  Francisco,  and  at  New  Almaden,  Santa 
Clara  county. 

Cinnabar,  (sulphuret  of  mercury ) — This  is  the  characteristic  mineral  of  the 
Coast  mountains,  from  Clear  lake  on  the  north  to  San  Luis  Obispo  on  the 
south.  It  appears  to  be  connected  chiefly  with  the  secondary  rocks,  though  at 
San  Luis  Obispo  Prof.  B.  Silliman  collected  a  group  of  fossils  which  appear  to 
be  miocene  tertiary.  (See  a  notice  by  Mr.  Gabb,  Proc.  Cal.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.) 
The  principal  .locality  is  the  well  known  mine  of  New  Almaden,  in  Santa  Clara 
county,  and  the  adjacent  mines  of  the  Enriqueta  and  the  Guadalupe.  The  ore 
occurs  massive,  in  large  bunches  and  "  strings,"  and  is  associated  with  calc 
spar,  bitumen,  and  pyrites.  The  total  production  of  quicksilver,  chiefly  from 
the  New  Almaden,  up  to  January,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  was  three 
hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-three  flasks,  valued 
at  about  fifteen  million  of  dollars  in  gold.  At  the  North  Almaden,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  San  Jose"  valley,  and  nearly  opposite  the  New  Almaden,  considerable 
quantities  of  cinnabar  have  been  taken  out  of  prospecting  pits  at  this  place,  at 
several  different  points.  A  heavy  ferruginous  outcrop  shows  the  general  course 
of  the  metalliferous  belt.  The  rock  is  hard  and  flinty,  and  is  frequently  beauti- 
fully streaked  with  brilliant  red  cinnabar,  the  whole  sufficiently  compact  to  give 
fine  specimens  for  polishing  by  the  lapidary.  It  occurs  abundantly,  and  in 
very  handsome  cabinet  specimens,  at  the  New  Idria  mines,  in  Monterey  county, 
at  which  work  has  recently  been  resumed.  There  are  many  localities  in  Napa 
county,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Clear  lake  and  the  Geysers.  In  small  crystals 
in  hornstone,  at  Buckhorn  ranch,  north  of  Berreyesa  valley. 

In  Mariposa  county,  near  Coulterville,  in  finely  colored  crystals  in  quartz  in 
a  gold  vein.  Nevada  county,  about  four  miles  from  Grass  valley,  washed  out  of 
sluice  boxes,  and  entirely  different  from  the  New  Almaden  ore  in  appearance. 
Arizona,  about  eighteen  mJes  from  the  Colorado  river  :  at  Olive  City,  at  the 
Alma  claim,  and  the  Eugenie,  located  by  Mr.  Ehrenberg,  associated  with  silver. 
Reported  to  exist  in  Idaho,  on  the  Qwyhee  river. 

Corundum. — Los  Angeles  county,  in  the  drift  of  the  San  Francisquito  Pass, 
in  small  crystals.  (Baron  Richthofeu.) 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  203 

Copper,  native—  This  species  is  common  in  small  quantities  in  the  surface 
ores  of  the  principal  copper  mines  of  the  State,  but  is  not  found  below  the 
permanent  water  level.  No  veins  of  this  metal  like  those  of  Lake  Superior  ar^ 
known  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  but  the  abundance  of  large  drifted  masses  of  solid 
copper  in  one  or  more  streams  upon  the  northwest  coast,  (Russ.  Poss.,)  leave 
little  doubt  that  such  veins  do  exist  in  that  high  latitude.  Calaveras  county, 
at  the  Union  mine,  some  very  fine  masses  of  dendritic  or  moss  copper  have  been 
taken  out. — (Cabinet  of  J.  B.  Header.)  The  Keystone  mine,  adjoining  the 
Union,  also  produced  some  good  specimens  in  186 1.  Found  also  at  the  Na- 
poleon and  the  Lancha  Plana  mines  ;  and  in  Sacramento  county,  at  the 
Cosumnes  mine.  In  Santa  Barbara  county,  occurs  disseminated  in  grains  in 
the  midst  of  serpentine  rock.  Arizona,  on  the  Gila  river,  about  ninety  miles 
from  Fort  Yuma,  at  the  Arizona  Copper  Company's  mine ;  associated  with  red 
oxide  of  copper  and  green  carbonate,  and  spread  in  crystalline  masses  through 
a  gangue  of  calc  spar. —  Cabinet  of  the  author.)  For  the  ores  of  copper,  see 
C/ialcopyrite,  Red  copper,  Vitreous  copper,  Sfc. 

Copper  glance. — Los  Angeles  county,  at  the  Maris  mine,  Soledad  district,  in 
grains  and  irregular  masses  in  a  sienitic  granite.  It  contains  suver.  The  de- 
composition of  this  ore  at  and  near  the  surface  gives  metallic  copper,  and  metallic 
silver,  incrusting  the  surfaces  of  the  granite  where  fissured.  This  locality  was 
known  and  worked  as  early  as  1853.  In  Arizona  this  is  the  most  common  ore 
of  copper,  especially  in  Weaver  district,  near  La  Paz,  or  Olive  City.  It  is 
usually  argentiferous,  and  is  there  associated  with  gold  in  quartz  veins.  Found 
also  in  the  Chahuabi  valley,  the  Tajo,  and  the  San  Pedro  mines,  and  near 
Caborca,  in  northwestern  Sonora. 

Derbyshire  spar. — Castle  Dome  district.     (See  Fluor  spar) 

Diamond. — Butte  county,  Cherokee  Flat,  ten  miles  from  OroviHe.  In  well 
formed,  highly  modified  crystals,  from  one-eighth  to  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  and  generally  of  a  pale  straw  yellow  color.  Crystallization  tetra- 
hedral,  like  figure  267,  page  24,  Dana's  System  of  Mineralogy. 

Idaho. — Reported  to  exist  on  the  Owyhee  river. 

Diallogite,  (carbonate  of  manganese) — Occurs  abundantly  in  the  silver - 
bearing  veins  about  Austin,  Nevada.  By  decomposition  it  becomes  black,  and 
discolors  the  upper  parts  of  the  vein,  but  at  and  below  the  water-line,  with  the 
unchanged  ores  of  silver,  it  has  a  delicate  flesh-red  or  pink  color. 

Dolomite. — Amador  county,  in  narrow,  snow-white  reins,  traversing  a  talcose 
chloritic  rock,  and  bearing  coarse  free-  gold. — (Cabinet  of  the  author,  specimen 
presented  by  Mr.  James.)  Calaveras  county,  Angels  Camp,  in  the  Winter, 
Hill's  and  other  mines,  massive,  with  the  quartz  veins,  and  bears  gold.  Some- 
times in  fine  crystals,  lining  cavities.  San  Bernardino  county,  at  the  Armagosa 
mine,  bearing  coarse  gold. 

Embohte. — Is  believed  to  occur  in  the  surface  ores  of  Lander  county,  Nevada, 
near  Austin,  and  of  Washington  district,  further  south,  but  has  not  been  cer- 
tainly identified. 

Emerald  nickel. — Monterey  county,  with  chrome  ore. 

Feldspar. — San  Diego  county,  in  crystals.     (See  Orthoclase.) 

Fluor  spar. — In  crystals  and  large  cleavable  masses  of  various  tints. — white, 
pink,  and  purple  and  green,  like  the  specimens  from  Derbyshire,  England,  in 
the  veins  of  galena  and  blende,  Castle  Dome  district,  Colorado  river,  Arizona. 
Sparingly,  in  small  white  cubes,  with  the  copper  ore,  at  Mount  Diablo. 

Galena,  (sulphuret  of  lead.) — This  common  ore  of  lead  has  not  yet  been 
found  in  finely  crystallized  cabinet  specimens  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  locali- 
ties of  the  massive  or  granular  ore  are  numerous,  it  being  found  in  small  quanti- 
ties in  many  of  the  gold-bearing  veins  of  the  State,  especially  at  the  following  : 
Mariposa  county,  at  Marble  Springs  mine ;  Priceton  mine ;  Adelaide.  Cala- 
veras county,  at  the  Barnes  and  Silver  Elephant  claims,  at  Murphy's ;  at  the 


204  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Star  of  the  West,  Blue  Mountain  district,  and  the  Good  Hunter  claims,  with 
gold.  In  Sacramento  county,  at  Michigan  bar,  with  blende  and  pyrites/  Nevada 
county,  at  Meadow  lake,  with  blende.  Tuolumne  county,  at  the  Soulsby  mine, 
with  blende  and  iron  pyrites  and  gold.  In  Nevada  county,  in  several  of  the 
veins  at  Grass  valley,  with  free  gold.  In  Tehama  county,  on  Cow  creek ;  and 
abundantly  in  veins  on  the  island  of  Santa  Catalina.  In  Arizona  it  is  abun- 
dant in  the  veins  of  the  Castle  Dome  district,  twenty-five  miles  from  Fort  Yuma, 
and  in  the  Eureka  district  on  the  same  river,  about  twenty-five  miles  further 
north  ;  also  in  the  Piccacho  district,  and  in  the  Weaver  district,  near  La  Paz  ; 
at  the  Santa  Rita  mine,  with  gray  copper  ore ;  in  the  Tajo.  vein,  with  copper 
glance,  blende,  tetrahedrite,  and  gold  ;  in  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  south  of 
Fort  Buchanan ;  at  the  Mowry  and  Patagonia  mines ;  at  San  Xavier,  on  the 
Santa  Cruz,  (Pumpelly.)  In  Nevada  it  is  abundant  on  Walker's  river,  north  of 
Esmeralda,  and  at  Steamboat  Springs,  Galena  district.  It  is  also  found  in  por- 
tions of  the  Comstock  lode,  Washoe,  associated  with  the  silver  sulphurets ;  but 
where  it  is  associated  in  that  vein  with  much  blende  and  copper  pyrites,  it  is  not 
rich  in  silver — forming  the  ore  commonly  known  there  as  "  base  rnetal." 

Garnet. — Iifl  Dorado  county,  at  Fairmount  mine,  three  miles  from  Pilot  Hill, 
in  large  blocks  and  masses  two  feet  thick  or  more.  Associated  with  specular 
iron,  calc  spar,  iron  pyrites,  and  copper  pyrites,  with  actinolite  in  steatite,  near 
Petaluma,  Sonoma  county  ;  in  large  semi-crystalline  masses,  weighing  ten  to 
twenty  pounds,  and  of  a  light  color,  from  the  Coso  mining  district.  (Specimens  of 
this  were  brought  to  San  Francisco  under  the  supposition  that  it  was  tin  ore.) 
A  beautiful  green  garnet,  grossular,  is  found  with  the  copper  ore  of  the  Rogers 
claim,  Hope  valley,  El  Dorado  county,  and  similarly  in  copper  ore  at  the 
Mountain  Meadows,  Los  Angeles  county.  In  Russian  America,  Stickeen  river, 
•in  finely  formed  trapezohedral  and  dodecahedral  crystals  imbedded  in  mica  slate, 
and  much  resembling  specimens  from  Monroe,  Connecticut. 

Gold,  (crystalline.) — Placer  county,  at  Irish  creek,  three  miles  from  Colo- 
ma,  in  arborescent  and  crystalline  masses  covered  with  octahedrons.  (Eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-four,  cabinet  of  author.)  At  Forrest  Hill,  in  the  same  county, 
in  the  placer  claims  of  the  Messrs.  Deidesheimer,  in  flattened  and  distorted 
octahedra.  One  crystal  is  a  partially  formed  octahedron,  with  a  rectangular 
base  one  inch  long  by  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  wide.  At  Mameluke  Hill,  near 
Georgetown,  in  ragged  crystalline  masses,  in  a  quartz  vein.  In  El  Dorado 
county,  at  Spanish  Dry  Diggings,  in  large  masses  of  irregular  dendritic  crystal- 
lizations. One  mass  recently  obtained  weighed  about  sixteen  pounds,  and  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Dickinson,  of  New  York,  for  preservation.  Calaveras  county, 
a  large  partly  formed  crystal  with  octahedral  edges ;  if  perfect  would  be  two 
inches  in  diameter.  Tuolumne  county,  flattened,  distorted  octahedrons  from 
the  Whiskey  Hill  mine.  Mariposa  county,  octahedrons  from  the  placers  near 
Coulterville,  but  very  rare.  At  the  Priceton  mine,  rarely,  in  nests  and  bunches 
of  octahedrons,  with  brilliant  faces. 

Small  delicate  microscopic  prisms  of  gold  have  been  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sonora.  They  appear  to  be  terminated  with  crystalline  planes  at  both  ends, 
and  probably  are  elongated  octahedrons.  (From  the  collection  of  Doctor  Snell.) 

Crystals  of  sporjgiforrn  gold,  from  one-eighth  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  di- 
ameter, and  as  light  almost  as  cork,  were  washed  out  by  Doctor  Hill  from  a 
claim  near  Angels.  This-  is  a  condition  of  native  gold  which,  it  is  believed, 
has  not  been  hitherto  noticed. 

In  Plumas  county,  Sherman  lode,  Light  canon,  on  coatings  of  green  and  blue 
carbonates  of  copper,  proceeding  from  the  decomposition  of  variegated  copper 
pyrites  or  vitreous  copper  in  part.  This  gold  was  apparently  deposited  after 
the  deposition  of  the  carbonate  of  copper.  The  specimens  are  beautiful'.  (Cabi- 
net of  Mr.  Waters,  Sacramento.)  Mariposa  county,  in  a  narrow  vein  of  calcite 
or  dolomite,  two  inches  wide,  cutting  slates  ;  precise  locality  not  known.  The 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY  MOUNTAIN*  205 

gold  was  in  coarse  masses  and  strings  in  the  middle  of  the  vein.  Amador 
county,  near  Dry  town,  in  a  vein  of  pearl  spar,  which  is  very  pure  and  white, 
and  without  admixture  with  quartz  or  pyrites.  The  gold  is  in  coarse  masses  in 
the  midst  of  the  pearl  spar.  (Specimens  collected  by  Mr.  James,  and  presented 
to  the  author.) 

Gold  in  small  quantities  occurs  at  many  places  in  the  Coast  mountains,  and 
associated  with  cinnabar.  Some  specimens  of  coarse'  gold  have  been  found  in 
the  cinnabar  veins  of  Colusa  county.  In  Excelsior  district  gold  occurs  with 
molybdenite.  In  San  Bernardino  counjby,  at  the  Armagosa  mine,  in  feldspar 
and  in  calc  spar,  in  a  granitic  rock,  associated  also  with  arsenolite. 

Many  large  masses  of  gold  have  been  taken  from  the  placers  of  California  at 
various  times,  of  which  no  authentic  record  or  description  has  been  kept.  In 
1864,  a  large  mass,  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  ounces,  (fifteen  and  seven-- 
twelfths pounds,)  was  taken  from  the  middle  fork  of  the  American  river,  about 
two  miles  from  Michigan  bluffs,  Placer  county. 

The  Carson  Hill  quartz  claim,  in  Calaveras  county,  is  celebrated  for  the  size 
and  weight  of  the  masses  of  gold  taken  from  it,  some  of  which  weighed  six  and 
seven  pounds.  (For  further  observations  upon  gold,  its  geology  and  distribution, 
see  an  article  at  the  end.) 

Gold  and  tellurium. — (See  Tellurium.) 

Gray  copper  ore. — With  gold  in  the  Pine  Tree  mine,  Mariposa  grant,  and 
similarly  at  the  lona  Company's  claim,  and  others  upon  the  same  belt  near 
Coulterville.  (See  Tetrahedrite) 

Graphite. — About  twenty  miles  above  the  Big  Tree  Grove,  in  crystalline 
scales ;  also  at  the  mine  of  the  Eureka  Plumbago  Company,  (locality  not  known.) 

Gypsum. — Los  Angeles  county,  in  the  Great  Basin,  near  the  entrance  to  the 
Soledad  or  "New  Pass."  San  Diego  county,  along  the  banks  of  Carizzo  creek, 
and  on  the  slope  of  the  desert.  Tuiare  county,  at  the  vein  of  stibnite,  in  crys- 
tals. Nevada  county,  near  the  Truckee  Pass,  in  beautiful  stellar  radiations, 
from  o^e  half  of  an  inch  to  three  inches  in  diameter.  (Cabinet  of  C.  W.  Smith, 
Grass  valley.) 

Hematite,  (specular  iron  ore.) — This  is  a  very  abundant  ore  in  California, 
and  Arizona,  on  the  Colorado  river,  near  Williams's  Fork.  Some  of  the  dry 
arroyos  or  canons  in  that  region  are  crowded  with  blocks  of  the  pure  ore,  from 
one  to  two  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  broken  from  beds  and  seams  in  an  impure 
metamorphic  limestone.  The  structure  is  granular,  passing  into  micaceous,  and 
freshly  broken  surfaces  are  extremely  brilliant.  Specimens  of  similar  ore  were 
brought  in  by  Jules  Marcou,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  from  the  val- 
ley of  Williams's  Fork,  further  north.  This  ore  occurs  also  in  Humboldt  valley, 
and  abundantly  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  south  of  Acapulco, 

Hessite. — Eldorado  county.     (See  Tefiuret  of  silver  ?f 

Hornblende. — At  San  Pablo.  At  Soledad,  in  sienite.  At  Yallecito,  near 
Murphy's. 

Hyalite. — Associated  with  semi-opal,  in  the  Mount  Diablo  range,  about  thUty 
miles  south  of  Mount  Diablo.  (In  cabinet  of  J.  B.  Meader,  Stockton.) 

Jdocrase. — Siegel  lode,  Eldorado  county.  (?) 

Iodide  of  mercury.' — Santa  Barbara  county.  (?) 

Hmenite. — Eldorado  county,  near  Georgetown,  from  the  golcl  washings;  a 
very  fine  crystal,  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  brilliant  planes. 

Iron  ores. — (See  Magnetite  and  Hematite.) 

Iridosmine. — With  platinum  and  gold  in  the  beach  sands  of  the  northern  coun- 
ties. An  analysis  by  C.  Kurlbaum,  jr.,  in  Pr.  Genth's  laboratory,  of  a  sample 
of  the  residue  from  gold  washing  and  amalgamation,  obtained  by  the  author  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  gave  48.77  per  cent,  of  iridosmine.  Found  also 
as  a  residue  in  melting  large  lots  of  placer  dust. 

Iron  pyrites. — Found  in  most  of  the  gold-bearing  quartz  veins,  either  crystal- 


206  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

line  or  massive;  usually  from  one  to  five  per  cent,  of  trie  whole  weight  of  the 
ore.  The  value  for  gold  varies  greatly.  At  Grass  valley  the  concentrated  sul- 
phurets  are  worth  from  one  hundred  dollars  to  three  hundred  dollars  per  ton. 
Cabinet  specimens  of  this  mineral  may  be  had  in  very  large  crystals,  cubes,  at 
the  Fairmount  claim,  three  miles  from  Pilot  Hill,  Eldorado  county.  It  is  there 
associated  with  garnets,  .brown  spar,  and  specular  iron.  Found  in  brilliant 
druses  lining  fissures  in  the  rocks  of  the  E  Pluribus  Unum  tunnel,  three  miles 
from  Murphy's,  Calaveras  county.  In  brilliant  but  small  cubical  crystals  in 
the  gold  ore  of  the  Mameluke  claim,  near  Georgetown,  Eldorado  county.  Mari- 
posa  county,  in  large  and  perfect  crystals  in  the  slates  near  the  Deville  mine, 
south  of  Princeton  Hill.  Placer  county,  in  large  crystals,  near  the  Grizzly  Bear 
House,  between  Auburn  and  Forrest  Hill. 

Jasper. — Very  fine  masses  of  brown  and  yellow  jasper  are  abundant  near 
Murphy's,  Calaveras  county,  in  the  quartz  veins,  and  in  the  debris  from  them. 

Kcrargyrite. — (See  Chloride  of  silver.) 

Lignite. — San  Francisco  county,  Contra  Costa  county,  Monterey  county;  in 
Amador  county,  in  thick  beds  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada;  used  in  lone 
City  for  steam  boilers ;  Santa  Barbara  county,  Humboldt  county,  along  the  Eel 
river ;  Klamath  county,  at  Gold  Bluff,  four  hundred  feet  below  the  surface. 
(Lieutenant  Tuttle,  U.  S.  army.)  Del  Norte  county,  at  Point  St.  George.  (Pro- 
fessor Sherman  Day.)  In  Nevada,  "Washoe  county,  along  the  Truekee  river; 
in  Lyon  county,  at  the  "Whitman  mines." 

Limonite. — Mariposa  county,  at  Burns's  creek,  near  the  old  road  to  Fort 
Miller,  in  a  heavy  outcrop  of  quartz ;  solid  blocks  of  limonite,  from  two  to  four 
feet  thick,  are  found  there.  (See  Geol.  Rec.  Cal.,  p.  290.)  Oregon,  sixteen 
miles  from  Portland,  in  an  extensive  bed ;  specimens  were  sent  by  Governor 
Gibbs  to  the  Mechanics'  Fair  exhibition  in  1864. 

Made. — Mariposa  county.  (See  Andalucite.) 

Magnecite,  (carbonate  of  magnesia.) — Tulare  county,  near  Visalia,  between 
Four  creeks  and  Moor's  creek,  in  the  foot-hills,  in  solid  beds  of  pure  white, 
massive  carbonate  of  magnesia,  hard,  fine  grained,  and  like  unglazed  porcelain 
in  texture.  The  beds  are  from  one  to  six  feet  thick,  and  are  interstratified  with 
talcose  slates  and  serpentine.  Similar  beds  are  described  to  me  as  existing  in 
the  Diablo  range.  Alameda  county,  about  thirty  miles  south  of  the  mountain. 
Mariposa  county  and  Tuolumne  county:  a  heavy  bed  of  magnesian  rock, 
chiefly  magnesite,  charged  with  crystals  of  iron  pyrites,  accompanies  the  chief 
gold-bearing  quartz  vein  of  thoso  counties.  This  rock  is  charged  also  with 
nickel  and  chrome  talc  in  green  films,  like  the  magnesite  of  Canada. 

Magnetite. — In  large  beds,  massive,  and  of  superior  quality,  in  Sierra  county ; 
also  in  octahedral  crystals,  forming  beautiful  cabinet  specimens.  In  Plumas 
county,  near  the  line,  fin£  groups  of  octahedrons  associated  with  garnet  (?)  and 
epidote.  (?)  Mariposa  county,  just  east  of  the  Mariposa  estate,  on  the  trail  to 
Yosemite.  Placer  county,  at  Utt's  ranch,  six  miles  from  Auburn.  At  the 
Caiiada  de  las  Uvas,  Los  Angeles  county,  in  a  vein  about  three  feet  thick,  in 
limestone ;  in  the  sienitic  granite  of  the  mountains  between  the  Great  Basin 
and  Los  Angeles;  seen  in  drift  fragments  in  the  valley  of  Soledad,  or  "Wil- 
liamson's Pass."  Eldorado  county,  at  Volcanoville,  on  the  middle  fork  of  the 
American  river,  near  the  great  quartz  vein.  This  locality  was  noted  by  the 
writer  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three.  Thia  ore  is,  perhaps,  titaniferous, 
but  specimens  are  not  at  hand  for  examination.  Trinity  county,  near  Weaver- 
ville,  in  small  veins.  (Trask,  3d  report,  1865,  p.  56.)  Nevada  county,  three 
miles  from  Grass  valley.  Eldorado  county,  fine  octahedral  crystals,  in  slate, 
near  the  Boston  copper  mine ;  in  small  brilliant  crystals,  with  quartz,  pyrites! 
and  calc  spar;  at  the  Eldorado  Excelsior  copper  claim. 

Malachite,  (green   carbonate  of  copper.) — In   remarkably  fine   specimens, 


WEST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS,  207 

associated  with  crystalline  blue  carbonate,  at  Hnghes's  mine,  Calaveras  county, 
(1861.) 

Manganese,  oxide. — (See  Pyrolusite.) 

Manganese,  carbonate  of. — (See  Dialogite.) 

Mercury. — Native  quicksilver  is  found  in  Napa  (?)  county,  near  the  Geysers, 
at  the  Pioneer  claim,  in  a  silicious  rock. 

(For  sulphuret  of  mercury,  see  Cinnabar.) 

Mercury,  iodide  of. — Santa  Barbara  county,  (Mr.  G.  E.  Moore.) 

Mispickel.— Grass  valley,  Nevada  county,  at  Betsey  mine,  with  gold.  This 
mineral  is  a  common  associate  of  gold  in  the  quartz  of  the  State.  Crystals  of 
mispickel  are  sometimes  penetrated  with  gold. 

Molybdate  of  had. — State  of  Nevada,  Comstock  lode,  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  California  mine,  in  the  "rusty  lode,"  in  small  yellow  crystals;  in  good 
crystals  in  the (?)  mine,  "Weaver  district,  Arizona. 

Molybdenite. — Occurs  in  fine  specimens  at  several  localities  in  the  gold  re- 
gion .;  Nevada  county,  at  the  Excelsior  mine,  Excelsior  district,  abundantly 
with  gold. 

Mountain  cork. — Tuolumne  county, 

Nickel. — (See  Emerald  nickel.) 

Orthoclase. — San  Diego  county,  in  granite  veins  along  the  road  between 
Santa  Isabel  and  San  Pasquale,  associated  with  tourmalines  and  garnet.  Fresno 
county,  at  Fort  Miller,  in  coarse-grained  granite,  under  the  edge  of  the  lava 
plateau. 

Opal — semi-opal. — A  white  milky  variety  of  opal  is  found  in  Calaveras 
county,  at  Mokelumne  Hill,  or  on  the  hill  near  that  place  known  as  Stockton 
Hill,. on  the  west  side  of  Chile  gulch.  A  shaft  has  been  sunk  there  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  feet,  and  the  opals  are  found  in  a  thin  stratum  of  red  gravel. 
They  vary  in  size  from  a  kernel  of  corn  to  the  size  of  walnuts.  Many  of  them 
contain  dendritic  infiltrations  of  manganese  oxide,  looking  like  moss.  About  a 
bushel  of  these  stones  are  raised  in  one  day,  and  are  said  to  have  a  market 
value.  A  white  milky  variety,  similar  to  the  above,  and  without  "  fire,"  is 
found  with  magnesite  in  Mount  Diablo  range,  thirty  miles  south  of  the  moun- 
tain ;  also  in  the  foot  hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  at  the  Four  Creeks. 

Pearl  spar. — (See  Dolomite.) 

Petroleum. — Abundantly  distributed  throughout  the  coast  counties,  from  San 
Diego  in  the  south  to  Crescent  City  in  the  north.  The  purest  and  most  limpid 
natural  oils  have  thus  far  been  obtained  from  the  localities  north  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  Humboldt  and  Colusa  counties.  These  oils  are  green  by  reflected 
light,  and  resemble  the  best  samples  from  Pennsylvania.  No  abundantly  flow- 
ing wells  have  yet  been  found.  In  Humboldt  county  there  are  many  springs, 
giving  both  oil  and  gas,  and  numerous  wells  are  in  progress.  So  also  in  Colusa 
county,  at  Bear  valley,  about  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Colusa,  several  springs, 
giving  a  fine  quality  of  lubricating  oil  and  much  gas ;  also  at  Antelope  dis- 
trict, nineteen  miles  west  of  Colusa.  In  Contra  Costa  county,  ten  miles  from 
Oakland,  there  are  petroleum  springs,  and  a  very  superior  oil  has  been  obtained 
from  the  region  of  Mount  Diablo.  In  Tulare  county  there  is  an  extensive 
region  where  oil  and  gas  springs  abound.  The  localities  are  numerous  in  the 
counties  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Barbara,  Tulare,  and  Los  Angeles. 

Platina. — With  iridium  and  iridosmine,  on  the  coast  at  Cape  Blanco,  south- 
ern Oregon.  Analysis  of  a  sample  of  the  mixed  metals  from  Port  Orford,  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty -four,  gave  forty-three  and  fifty-four  one-lmndredths 
per  cent,  of  platina. 

Proustiie,  (light  red  silver  ore.) — In  the  veins  about  Austin,  Lander  county, 
Nevada.  At  the  Daney  mine,  and  occasionally  in  the  ore  of  the  Comstock 
lode. 

Pyrargyrite,  (dark  red  silver  ore.) — (See  Ruby  silver.) 


208  EESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Pyrolusite. — Red  Island,  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  in  vein  or  bed  3'  to  4'  wide, 
in  the  metamorphic  jaspery  shales — the  "prasoid"  rocks.  This  is  a  remarkably 
pure  ore  of  manganese,  and  has  been  extensively  mined  for  shipment. 

Pyrophyllite  occurs  in  the  gold  region ;  locality  not  known. 

Pyroxene. — In  fine  crystals,  dark  green,  near  Mud  springs,  Eldorado 
county. 

Pyromorpliite,  (phosphate  of  had.) — In  Nevada,  in  the  outcrops  of  the 
Comstock  lode,  especially  the  back  ledges  of  the  Ophir  ground,  giving  green 
coats  and  crusts  on  the  surface  of  the  quartz. 

Pyrrhotine,  (magnetic  pyrites  ) — Mariposa  county,  at  the  Ion  a  Copper 
Company's  tunnel,  north  side  of  the  Merced  river,  on  the  trail  from  Bear  valley 
to  Coulterville. 

Quartz. — This  abundant  mineral  is  obtained  in  fine  crystals  in  the  quartz 
veins  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  and  in  the  mines  of  Wafhoe.  Some  large 
and  well-formed  crystals,  from  three  to  four  inches  or  more  in  diameter,  have 
been  found  at  Red  Hill,  in  Placer  county,  (cabinet  of  C.  W.  Smith,  Grass 
valley,)  and  in  the  placer  claims  in  the  vicinity  of  Placerville,  where,  also,  a 
fine  large  crystal  of  smoky  quartz  was  found.  Mariposa  county,  on  Whitlock's 
and  Shirlock's  creeks,  in  the  quartz  veins,  in  fine  groups  of  crystals  ;  also  at 
the  Mariposa  mine,  and  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Princeton  vein.  Calaveras 
county,  at  the  Noble  claim,  on  Domingo  creek.  Nevada  county,  in  the  Grass 
Valley  mines,  often  supporting  gold  between  the  crystals,  and  at  the  "  French 
lode,"  (Eureka?)  crystals  of  a  light  greenish  tinge,  like  that  of  datfyolite. 

Red  oxide  of  copper  occurs  sparingly  in  thin  crusts  and  sheets  with  the 
surface  ores  of  the  principal  copper  mines  in  Calaveras  county,  especially  the 
Union  and  Keystone.  In  Mariposa  county,  at  La  Victoire  mine,  with  green 
and  blue  carbonates  of  copper.  Del  Norte  county,  at  the  Evoca,  Alta,  and 
other  mines,  in  very  good  cabinet  specimens,  the  cavities  being  lined  with  crys- 
tals. In  Piumas  county,  and  in  the  upper  parts  of  most  of  the  copper  veins  of 
the  State.  Arizona,  at  the  Arizona  Copper-Mining  Company's  claim,  near  the 
Gila  river,  in  large  masses,  with  native  copper  and  thin  crusts  of  green  car- 
bonate. At  the  claim  known  as  No.  15,  Yavapais  district,  with  native  copper. 

Ruby  silver,  (pyrargyrite.) — This  beautiful  ore  of  silver  was  first  discov- 
ered in  the  Daney  mine,  Washoe,  by  the  writer,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
jane,  and  has  since  been  found  sparingly  in  the  Ophir  and  the  Gould  &  Curry. 
In  the  latter  mine  some  very  fine  specimens  were  obtained  by  Mr.  Strong,  and 
are  deposited  in  the  cabinet  of  the  company,  at  the  office  in  Virginia  City.  This 
ore  is  abundant  in  the  veins  about  Austin,  Ileese  river,  and  is  often  so  thoroughly 
spread  through  the  quartz  of  the  gaugue  as  to  give  it  a  decided  reddish  color. 
It  is  generally  associated  with  sulphuret  of  silver.  No  good  crystals  have  yet 
been  found. 

Salt — roc7v  salt. — Abundant  »in  the  dry  season  as  an  incrustation  throughout 
California.  Found  in  large  quantities  in  Nevada,  in  the  beds  of  desiccated  lakes 
at  numerous  places.  About  twelve  miles  north  of  Armagosa  mine,  in  large 
masses.  In  the  Wasatch  mountains,  southeast  of  Lake  Timpanogos,  on  the 
headwaters  of  a  small  creek  tributary  to  Utah  lake,  in  thick  strata  of  red  clay. 
(Fremont's  Geog.  Mem.,  67.)  This  is  said  to  be  the  same  locality  mentioned 
by  Father  Escalante  in  his  journal,  and  noted  by  Humboldt  on  his  map  as 
"  Montagnes  de  Sd  Gemmed  Salt  crystallizes  from  the  spray  of  the  waters  of 
the  Great  Salt  lake,  and  is  found  abundantly  on  its  shores,  and  on  twigs  and 
shrubs.  The  Great  Salt  lake  is  a  saturated  solution  of  common  salt.  The 
shores  in  the  dry  season  are  incrusted  with  salt,  and  shallow  arms  of  the  lake 
present  beds  of  salt  for  miles.  Plants  and  shrubs  are  incrusted  to  a  thickness 
of  an  inch  or  more  with  crystallized  salt  deposited  by  the  spray.  Five  gallons 
of  the  wat^r  tnken  in  the  month  of  September,  and  evaporated  by  Colonel  Fre- 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  209 

moDt  over  a  fire,  gave  fourteen  pints  of  salt,  which  analysis  showed  to  have  th<3 
following  proportions  (Fremont's  Memoir,  9  :) 

Chloride  of  sodium , 97.80 

Chloride  of  calcium 0.61 

Chloride  of  magnesium 0.24 

Sulphate  of  soda 0.23 

Sulphate  of  lime 1.12 

Schorl,  (see  Tourmaline.) — Selenite. — In  beautiful  stellar  crystallizations 
on  the  crossing  of  the  Little  Truckee,  Henness  Pass  road.  The  blades  compos- 
ing these  aggregates  are  from  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  in  length,  and  from 
one-eighth  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  width.  They  are  perfectly  clear,  and 
most  of  them  hemitroped  so  as  to  form  arrow-headed  crystals.  (Cabinet  of  C. 
W.  Smith.) 

Selenid  of  mercury  —  In  large  masses  from  the  vicinity  of  Clear  lake. 

Silver,  native. — This  metal,  in  its  native  state,  is  rare  in  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. At  Silver  Mountain  district  (formerly  Eldorado  county)  it  occurs  in 
the  decomposed  surface  ores.  Los  Angeles  county,  in  the  decomposed  parts  of 
the  Maris  vein,  Soledad,  covering  surfaces  of  syenite.  Sonora,  at  the  celebrated 
Planchas  de  la  Plata,  just  south  of  the  Arizona  line,  and  near  the  meridian 
of  Tubac.  According  to  the  best  Mexican  and  Jesuit  authorities,  large 
masses  of  native  silver  were  discovered  there  in  1769.  One  mass  is  reported 
to  have  weighed  three  thousand  six  hundred  pounds.  No  vein  has  been 
found;  the  deposit  is  a  placer.  (Pumpelly.)  Nevada  —  Story  county,  in 
the  Comstock  lode,  in  filaments,  and  matted,  hairy  masses — "wire  silver," 
usually  closely  associated  with  silver  glance  and  stephanite.  At  the  Burn- 
ing Moscow  claim  (Ophir)  some  large  masses  of  ore  were  taken  out  in 
1864  completely  charged  with  the  metal.  Occurs  also  at  the  Daney  mine, 
with  native  gold  and  sulphuret  of  silver.  Lander  county,  in  the  veins  about 
Austin,  associated  with  the  surface  ores,  such  as  the  chloride  and  bromide  of 
silver,  and  green  and  blue  carbonates  of  copper.  Idaho  Territory,  in  large 
masses  at  the  "  Poor  Man's  lode,"  or  "  Candle-box  mine,"  where  it  was  said 
the  lumps  of  silver  were  as  large  as  candle  boxes.  That  a  great  quantity 
of  large  masses  of  the  metal  was  taken  out  there  is  no  doubt.  It  is  common  in 
the  silver  lodes  of  the  Owyhee,  and  is  usually  very  filamentous  and  finely 
divided  and  embedded  in  granular  quartz. 

Silver,  (telluret  of.) — A  single  specimen  was  obtained  by  the  author  in 
1854,  near  Georgetown,  in  Eldorado  county.  It  had  been  washed  out  from 
the  gold  drift,  and  the  parent  vein  has  never  been  found. — (Rep.  Geol.  Rec, 
Cal.,  302.) 

Smoky  quartz. — A  large  crystal  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  from  Placer 
county,  and  in  the  cabinet  of  Dr.  White,  Placerville. 

Sphene. — In  small  hair-Drown  crystals  in  the  granite  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Stephanite,  (brittle  sulpJmret  of  silver.) — Very  fine  crystals  of  stephanit© 
were  obtained  from  the  Ophir  and  Mexican  mines,  Nevada,  soon  after  they  were 
opened.  These  crystals  were  from  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  in  length,  but 
were  generally  imperfectly  formed.  They  greatly  resemble  the  crystallizations 
of  vitreous  copper  from  the  Bristol  mine  in  Connecticut.  A  large  collection  of 
these  was  made  by  R.  L.  Ogden  in  1859  and  1860,  and  were  noticed  by  the 
writer  in  the  Mining  Magazine.  They  are  now  more  rare,  but  have  been  found 
in  nearly  all  the  principal  claims  upon  the  Comstock  lode.  Some  very  good 
specimens  were  taken  from  the  Gould  &  Curry,  preserved  in  the  cabinet 
by  C.  L.  Strong,  in  1864.  They  are  frequently  implanted  among  quartz  crys- 
tals in  nests  or  geodes,  and  are  covered  with  a  hairy  growth  of  wire  silver. 

Crystals  of  silver  ore  from  Silver  Mountain  district  are  probably  this  specie*. 

St^bmte. — Tulare  county,  in  a  large  vein  near  the  Pass  of  San  Amedio 
•H.  Ex.  Doa  29 14 


210  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

(vide  Rep.  Geol.  Rec  Cal.,  pp.  292-3.)  It  occurs  in  large,  solid  masses, 
boulders  of  which  are  numerous  in  the  beds  of  the  arroyos  leading  from  the  vein. 
In  Nevada,  at  or  near  the  Gem  mine,  Dunglen ;  at  the  Sheba  mine,  in  beauti- 
ful needle-like  crystals,  and  at  the  De  Soto  and  other  mines  in  that  vicinity ; 
in  Russ  district,  Great  Basin. 

Stroymeyerite. — Arizona.  Heintzelman  mine. 

Sulphur.— Colusa  county ;  Napa  county,  at  the  Geysers.  In  Nevada,  in 
extinct  solfataras,  Humboldt  valley. 

Sulphuret  of  silver  • — Nevada,  Comstock  lode  ;  occurs  with  stephanite  in  the 
Ophir,  Mexican,  Gould  &  Curry,  and  other  mines  upon  that  line  of  claims. 
It  is  also  present  in  the  ore  of  the  vein  at  Gold  Hill,  and  appears  to  be  the  chief 
source  of  the  silver  in  those  ores.  It  has  not  been  observed  in  crystals.  In 
the  large  chamber  of  the  Ophir  mine,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  it  was 
very  abundant,  in  irregular  masses  ramifying  through  the  fragmentary  white 
quartz  so  as  to  hold  it  together  in  hand  specimens.  Large  masses  of  vein-stuff 
could  be  broken  down,  in  which  the  sulphuret  of  silver  constituted  at  least  half 
of  the  whole  weight.  Native  gold  was  commonly  associated  with  it  in  that 
part  of  the  mine. '  It  is  now  more  frequently  found  associated  with  copper 
pyrites  and  galena.  This  species  is  also  found  in  small  crystals  in  the  ore  of 
the  Daney  mine,  associated  with  native  silver,  gold,  and  ruby  silver.  It  is 
eommon  in  the  ores  of  Reese  river,  associated  with  ^'uby  silver  and  manganese 
spar.  It  is  probably  the  chief  ore  of  silver  in  the  Cortez  district. 

Sulphuret  of  iron — (See  Iron  pyrites?} 

Telluret  of  silver. — El  Dorado  county.     (See  Silver.) 

Tetrakedrite,  (gray  copper.) — Mariposa  county,  with  the  gold  in  the  Pine 
Tree  vein;  also  with  the  gold  in  the  same  or  similar  vein  at  the  Crown  lode, 
Emily  Peak,  and  at  Coulterville  in  several  claims.  Calaveras  county,  at  Carson 
Hill,  in  the  large  vein,  and  associated  with  gold.  This  ore,  in  decomposing, 
leaves  a  blue  stain  of  carbonate  in  the  quartz,  and  where  it  is  found  the  rock  is 
generally  rich  in  gold.  In  Nevada  it  occurs  abundantly  in  the  Sheba  mine, 
Humboldt  county,  massive  and  rich  in  silver.  It  is  associated  with  the  follow- 
ing species,  which  were  noted  from  time  to  time  by  Mr.  Moss,  the  superintend- 
ent, and  in  part  by  the  author :  Ruby  silver,  argentiferous  galena,  antimonial 
galena,  iron  pyrites,  blende,  cerusite,  calcite,  quartz  with  acicular  antimony, 
sulphuret  of  antimony  in  delicate  needles  and  massive  native  silver,  bournonite. 
Found  also  in  Lander  county,  with  the  silver  ores  of  the  veins  near  Austin  ;  at 
the  Comet  lode,  Veatch  canon,  south  of  Austin.  Los  Angeles  county — at  the 
•Zapata  claim,  San  Gabriel  mountains.  Arizona — at  the  Heintzelman  mine, 
containing  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  silver.  (Pumpelly.)  Also, 
at  the  Santa  Rita  mine,  associated  with  galena. 

Tellurium  and  gold,  (tetradyrmte  ?) — At  the  Melones  and  Stanislaus  mines, 
one  mile  south  of  Carson  Hill,  Calaveras  county,  very  beautiful  specimens  of 
native  gold,  associated  with  tellurium,  were  taken  out  of  a  vein  from  six  to 
eighteen  inches  thick,  and  at  a  depth  of  two  hundred  feet  from  the  surface. 
This  tellurct  has  a  tin-white  color,  and  is  not  foliated  like  the  tetradymite 
from  the  Field  vein  in  Georgia.  Its  exact  specific  character  is  not  yet  de- 
termined. 

Tin  ore,  (oxyd  of  tin.) — (See  Cassiterite.) 

Topaz. — In  clear,  colorless  crystals,  finely  terminated,  from  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  to  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  found  in  the  tin  washings  of  Durango,  Mexico. 
(Cabinet  of  the  author,  1864.)  Noticed  by  C.  F.  Chandler,  American  Journal 
of  Science,  1865. 

Tourmaline. — San  Diego  county,  north  side  of  the  valley  of  San  Felipe,  in 
feldsoathic  veins,  (for  description  and  figures  see  Rep.  Geol.  Rec.  Cal.,  Blake,  p. 
304;)  Tuolumne  county. 

Tremolite. — White  and  fibrous  in  limestone,  Columbia,  Tuolumne  county. 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  211 

Tung-state  of  manganese. — With  tungstate  of  lime,  in  the  Mammoth  mining 
district,  Nevada.  (C.  T.  Jackson,  Proc.  Cal.  Acad.,  iii,  199.) 

Variegated  copper  ore,  ("Horseflesh  ore.") — Sigel  lode,  in  Plumas  county. 
Vitreous  copper. — (See  Copper  Glance,) 
Zinc. — (See  Blende.) 

Principal  public  and  private  mineralogical  and  geological  collections  in  Cali- 
fornia, known  to  the  author. 

I.— PUBLIC  COLLECTIONS. 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  COLLECTION — Sacramento  and  San  Francisco ;  not 
arranged,  and  in  part  destroyed  by  fire  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  at 
the  Pacific  warehouse. 

STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY'S — At  Sacramento  ;  partly  in  cases,  hut  not 
classified  or  arranged. 

SAN  JOAQUIN  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY — At  Stockton ;  collected  chiefly  hy 
Dr.  Holden  ;  not  large,  nor  well  arranged. 

CALIFORNIA  ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES — At  San  Francisco;  not 
arranged ;  in  boxes,  and  stored,  awaiting  a  suitable  room  or  building  for  their 
display.  This  collection  was  made  in  great  part  by  and  through  the  exertions 
of  Dr.  J.  G.  Trask,  and  has  many  valuable  specimens  taken  from  our  mines 
soon  after  their  discovery. 

COLLEGE  OF  CALIFORNIA — At  Oakland.  A  collection  of  minerals  and  fos- 
sils of  California ;  partly  arranged. 

SANTA  CLARA  COLLEGE.     (No  particulars  known.) 

ODD  FELLOWS'  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION — At  San  Francisco.  A  valuable 
miscellaneous  collection  of  minerals,  ores,  fossils,  and  curiosities,  chiefly  the 
donation  of  the  members  of  the  Order ;  arranged  in  cases,  at  the  Hall.  The 
Order  is  indebted,  chiefly,  for  this  valuable  addition  to  their  rooms,  to  the  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  of  their  president,  S.  H.  Parker,  esq. 

OCCIDENTAL  HOTEL — Lewis  Leland,  San  Francisco.  A  collection  contain- 
ing many  very  choice  and  valuable  specimens  of  ores  and  precious  metals  of  the 
Pacific  coast. 

II.— PRIVATE  COLLECTIONS. 

W.  P.  BLAKE — At  San  Francisco  and  Oakland.  A  collection  of  minerals, 
ores,  geological  specimens,  and  fossils,  from  California,  Nevada,  Arizona,  Idaho, 
Mexico,  the  eastern  States,  Japan,  and  China,  with  some  European  minerals. 
About  sixty  boxes  of  this  collection  were  destroyed  in  the  Pacific  warehouse, 
by  fire,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five.  A  portion,  stored  at  the  college  and 
elsewhere,  was  uninjured.  It  is  now  partly  in  boxes,  and  partly  in  cases,  in 
San  Francisco,  and  at  the  College  of  California,  Oakland.  There  are  probably 
five  thousand  to  six  thousand  specimens,  a  great  part  of  them  selected  by  the 
owner  at  the  localities.  It  contains  a  valuable  and  extensive  suit  of  crystalline 
gold. 

Dr.  J.  M.  FREY — Sacramento.  A  large  and  valuable  miscellaneous  collec- 
tion of  Pacific  coast  minerals,  including  a  fine  suit  of  gold  in  crystals.  Arranged 
in  part,  in  cases,  in  Sacramento. 

Dr.  JOHN  HEWSTON,  Jr. — San  Francisco.     Miscellaneous  collection. 

Dr.  JONES — Murphy's,  Calaveras  county.  A  miscellaneous  collection, 
chiefly  local. 

A.  P.  MOLITOR — San  Francisco.     Miscellaneous  collection. 

K.  L.  OGDEN — San  Francisco.  A  miscellaneous  collection  of  copper  and 
gold  ores.  A  large  collection  made  by  this  gentleman  up  to  eighteen  hundred 
ind  sixty-one,  was  purchased  by  W.  P.  Blake,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one. 


212  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

AUGCSTE  EEMOND — San  Francisco.     (No  particulars  known.) 

Dr.  SNELL — Sonora,  Tuolumne  county.  A  rich  and  valuable  collection  of 
fossils  and  aboriginal  relics  from  the  auriferous  gravel  under  Table  mountain, 
and  of  minerals  and  ores  from  that  region.  This  is  the  richest  collection  of 
relics  of  the  mastodon  and  the  mammoth  in  California. 

T.  J.  SPEAR — San  Francisco ;  formerly  at  Georgetown,  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty- two  and  three.  A  small  miscellaneous  collection,  which  included  an 
ammonite,  from  the  gold  slates  of  the  American  river ;  valuable  to  science  as 
one  of  the  evidences  of  the  secondary  age  of  the  gold-bearing  rocks  of  California. 

Dr.  STOUT — San  Francisco.  A  miscellaneous  collection  of  Eastern  and 
European  specimens,  arranged  in  cases. 

C.  W.  SMITH — -Grass  valley,  Nevada  county.  An  interesting  collection, 
arranged  in  cases,  afid  containing  some  choice  specimens  from  the  mines  of 
Grass  valley. 

Dr.  WHITE — Placerville,  El  Dorado  county.  A  miscellaneous  collection, 
containing  many  interesting  specimens  from  that  region,  and  some  foreign  mine- 
rals, by  exchange. 

W.  R.  WATERS — Sacramento.  Miscellaneous  collection  of  minerals  and 
ores,  arranged  in  case. 


Notes  on  tlie  geographical  distribution  and  'geology  of  the  precious  metals  and 
valuable  minerals  on  tlie  Pacific  slope  oj'  the  United  States. 

If  we  attempt  to  delineate  by  colors  upon  a  map  the  geographical  distribution 
of  the  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  quicksilver  localities  of  the  Pacific  slope,  we  ob- 
tain a  series  of  nearly  parallel  belts  or  zones,  following  the  general  course  or 
trend  of  the  mountain  chains  and  of  the  coast.  So,  also,  if  we  enter  the  Golden 
Gate  and  travel  eastward  across  the  country  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  we  pass 
successively  through  zones  or  belts  of  country  characterized  mineralogically  by 
different  metals  and  minerals. 

In  the  Coast  mountains,  for  example,  quicksilver  is  the  chief,  and  the  highly 
characteristic  economical  mineral.  The  localities  of  its  ore  are  strung  along  the 
mountains  through  the  counties  north  and  south  of  the  Golden  Gate.  We  have 
also  petroleum,  sulphur,  and  calcareous  springs,  nearly  coincident  in  their  dis- 
tribution. Passing  from  this  grouping  of  minerals  eastward  over  the  coal  beds 
of  Mount  Diablo,  and  crossing  the  great  interior  valley  of  California,  (probably 
underlaid  by  lignite,)  we  rise  upon  the  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  reach 
the  copper-producing  rocks.  These  form  a  well  marked  zone,  which  has  been 
traced  almost  uninterruptedly  from  Mariposa  to  Oregon,  following  the  lower 
hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

East  of  the  copper  belt,  (and  in  the  central  counties,  over  a  chain  of  hills 
known  as  "Bear  mountains,")  we  find  the  great  gold-bearing  zone,  characterized 
by  lines  of  quartz  ledges,  following  the  mountains  in  their  general  northwesterly 
and  southeasterly  course.  This  gold  belt  is  composite  in  its  character — the 
veins  traversing  either  slates,  limestones,  sandstones,  or  granite. 

Crossing  the  snow-covered  crest  of  the  Sierra,  where  in  some  parts  iron  ores 
have  been  found,  we  leave  the  region  of  gold  and  enter  that  of  silver,  mingled 
with  gold,  extending  up  and  down  the  interior  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  through- 
out California,  into  Arizona  and  Mexico  on  the  south,  and  Idaho  on  the  north. 

At  the  Reese  River  mountains,  further  east,  towards  Salt  Lake,  the  gold  is 
replaced  by  silver,  associated  with  copper,  antimony,  and  arsenic ;  and  this 
grouping  is  in  its  turn  replaced  by  the  gold-bearing  sulphurets  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  This  is  the  general  distribution  of  the  precious  metals.  There  are, 
doubtless,  local  exceptions. 

It  is  evident  that  this  distribution  of  the  metals  and  minerals  in  zones  has 
been  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  rocky  strata,  and  by  their  condition  of 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  213 

metamorphism.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  minerals  of  the  coast  ranges  are 
chiefly  the  more  volatile  and  soluble,  such  as  cinnabar,  sulphur,  petroleum,  and 
borax,  distributed  in  rocks  ranging  from  the  tertiary  to  the  cretaceous,  inclu- 
sive. 

The  longitudinal  extension  of  the  gold-bearing  zone  is  yet  undetermined. 
The  metal  has  been  traced  through  the  whole  length  of  California,  through  Ore- 
gon and  Washington,  into  British  Columbia,  and  beyond,  along  the  Russian 
possessions,  towards  the  Arctic  sea.  Southward,  it  is  prolonged  into  Sonora 
and  Mexico,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  its  extension  is.  coincident 
with  the  great  mountain  chain  of  North  America  in  its  course  around  the  globe, 
into  and  through  Asia. 

After  years  of  laborious  search  for  fossils  by  which  the  age  of  the  gold- 
bearing  rocks  might  be  determined,  I  had  the  pleasure,  early  in  1863,  to 
obtain  a  specimen  containing  Ammonites  from  a  locality  on  the  American 
river,  preserved  in  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Spear.  This  fossil  was  of  extreme 
importance,  being  indicative  of  the  secondary  age  of  the  gold  bearing  slates, 
and  was  therefore  photographed,  and  copies  of  it  sent  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  at  Washington,  for  description.  It  was  subsequently  noticed  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  California  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  September,  1864, 
The  same  year,  when  at  Bear  valley,  Mariposa  county,  upon  the  chief  gold- 
bearing  rocks  of  California,  I  identified  a  group  of  secondary  fossils  from  the 
slates  contiguous  to  the  Pine  Tree  vein,  and  noticed  them  at  a  meeting  of  the 
California  Academy,  October  3,  1864,  announcing  the  Jurassic  or  cretaceous  age 
of  these  slates.  The  best  characterized  fossil  was  a  Plagwstoma,(oY  Lima,}  to 
which  I  provisionally  attached  the  name  Erringtoni*  The  attention  of  the 
geological  survey  having  been  directed  to  this  locality  by  my  announcement  and 
exhibition  of  the  fossils  in  San  Francisco  and  at  the  academy,  Mr.  Gabb,  the 
palaeontologist  of  the  survey,  visited  the  locality  and  obtained  specimens.  These 
fossils  were  of  such  interest  and  importance  to  science,  and  to  the  geological 
description  of  the  State,  that  an  extra  plate  was  engraved  for  them  and  pub- 
lished in  the  appendix  to  the  volume  on  the  geology,  recently  issued.! 

Fossils  of  the  secondary  age  from  Genesee  valley,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  were  common  in  collections  in  1864,  and  are  described  by  the  State  Geo- 
logical Survey,  volume  one,  "  Palaeontology."  It  appears  also,  from  the  same 
source,  that  Mr.  King,  a  gentleman  connected  with  the  survey,  had  obtained 
bclemites  from  the  Mariposa  rocks  in  1864,  but  no  figures  or  description  are 
given. 

We  may  thus  regard  the  secondary  age  of  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  gold-bearing 
rocks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  as  established,  a  result  of  no  small  importance  prac- 
tically, for  it  destroys  the  dogma,  which  has  been  very  generally  accepted,  that 
the  Silurian  or  Palaeozoic  rocks  are  the  repositories  of  the  gold  of  the  globe. 
We  may  now  look  for  gold  in  regions  where  before  it  was  generally  presumed 
to  be  absent,  because  the  formations  were  not  Silurian  or  Palaeozoic. 

The  Silurian  age  of  the  gold  rocks  of  California  has  not  always  been  assumed. 
It  has  been  repeatedly  questioned.  In  the  preface  to  the  writer's  "  Report  of  a 
Geological  Reconnoissance  in  California,"  it  is  stated  that  a  considerable  part  of 
the  gold-bearing  slates  of  California  are  probably  carboniferous.  The  absence  of 
all  evidence  of  Silurian  fossils  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  is  also  distinctly 
noted,  (p.  276.)  The  opinion  of  the  comparatively  modern  age  of  the  gold 

*  In  honor  of  Miss  Errington,  a  lady  residing  on  the  estate,  who  drew  my  attention  to  some 
impressions  on  the  slates  which  she  had  picked  up  on  the  English  trail,  which  proved  to  be 
fossils. 

tl  regret  to  observe  that  in  this  publication,  as  well  as  in  Mr.  Gabb's  notice  of  the  fossils, 
no  mention  is  made  of  my  previous  announcement,  and  that  my  part  in  the  discovery 
and  publication  of  the  secondary  age  of  the  Mariposa  gold  rocks  is  studiously  and  wholly 
ignored. 


214  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

rocks  has  been  steadily  gaining  strength  and  support  for  years  past,  and  has 
been  the  subject  of  discussion  in  the  daily  journals. 

The  prevalence  of  gold  in  the  Coast  mountains,  in  or  in  close  proximity  to 
rocks  of  tertiary  age,  leads  us  to  question  whether  it  may  not  occur  in  the  rocks 
of  this  late  period  also.  The  fact,  recently  ascertained,  that  gold  is  very  gener- 
rally  associated  with  cinnabar,  makes  it  more  than  probable  that  the  metal  has 
been  deposited  in  formations  as  recent  even  as  the  Miocene,  (or  middle  tertiary,) 
for,  according  to  the  best  evidence  we  now  have,  this  is  the  age  of  a  part,  at 
least,  of  the  quicksilver-bearing  rocks. 

Such  a  result  need  not  surprise  us,  although  so  far  in  opposition  to  generally 
existing  views  of  the  geological  association  of  gold.  The  geological  age  of  the 
rocks  has  .manifestly  nothing  to  do  with  the  deposition  of  gold  ;  it  is  only  neces- 
sary that  the  rocks  should  have  a  favorable  mineral  composition  and  a  suitable 
degree  of  metamorphism.  On  this  general  view,  we  may  be  prepared  to  find 
gold  in  rocks  of  any  geological  period,  from  the  tertiary  to  the  Laurentian  or 
Huronian  rocks,  inclusive. 

The  lithology  of  the  chief  gold-bearing  zone  or  belt  of  rocks  of  California  is 
interesting.  The  chief  or  "  mother  vein"  extends  through  several  counties,  with 
occasional  breaks  or  interruptions  ;  and  throughout  its  course  preserves  its  dis- 
tinguishing characters.  It  follows  also  the  same  geological  horizon  or  zone, 
keeping  between  well-marked  geological  and  geographical  boundaries,  so  that  a 
description  of  the  strata  adjoining  it  at  one  place  will  serve  to  give  a  general 
view  of  them  throughout.  A  cross-section  in  considerable  detail  was  made  on 
the  Mariposa  estate  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four.  This  estate  includes 
the  southern  end  of  the  "  Great  Vein,"  there  known  as  the  "  Pine  Tree."  It 
also  includes  several  veins  lying  west  of  the  line  of  the  Pine  Tree,  of  which  the 
most  important  is  the  "  Princeton,"  noted  for  its  richness  and  large  production 
of  gold.  This  group  of  veins  follows  a  long  valley  between  two  high  ridges — 
Bear  Mountain  on  the  west,  and  Mount  Bullion  on  the  east.  Those  ridges  are 
formed  of  hard  rocks  ;  the  rocks  of  the  valley  are  argillaceous  and  sandy  slates 
and  sandstones.  The  stratification  of  these  slates  is  remarkably  regular  and  dis- 
tinct ;  their  thin  outcrops  standing  sharply  out  at  intervals  in  long  lines  in  the 
ravines  and  on  the  hillsides,  mark  their  trend,  and  show  that  they  are  nearly 
vertical,  or  have  a  slight  inclination  northeast  or  easterly.  The  general  direc- 
tion of  the  outcrops  and  of  the  valley  is  northwest  and  southeast ;  but  there  are 
several  local  variations. 

These  slates  are  generally  light  colored  or  drab  at  the  surface ;  but  in  depth 
they  are  black,  like  roofing  slate,  and  break  up  into  rhomboids.  This  is  partic- 
ularly well  shown  at  the  Princeton  vein.  There  are  numerous  intercalations  of 
sandy  layers  passing  into  sandstones — sometimes  into  coarse  grits,  and  even 
pebbly  beds,  and  beds  of  slaty  conglomerate.  The  softer  and  most  finely  lami- 
nated portion  of  the  group  is  generally  found  near  the  medial  line  of  the  valley, 
and  is  the  point  at  which  the  Princeton  vein  occurs.  It  is  near  this  part  of  the 
series,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  estate,  that  the  Jurassic  fossils  occur. 

The  following  is  an  approximate  geological  section  of  the  estate,  at  right 
angles  to  the  course  of  the  rocks,  and  nearly  over  the  Princeton  vein.  It  is  a 
composite  section,  being  made  up  of  three  distinct  portions  where  the  observa- 
tions, had  extended,  but  all  near  together,  so  as  to  present  a  fair  view  of  the  se- 
quence of  the  formations.  The  whole  embraces  a  distance  of  about  four  miles, 
•according  to  the  scale  of  the  small  published  map  of  the  estate.  The  southwest- 
ern end  is  taken  along  Bear  creek,  the  middle  portion  across  the  Princ- ton  vein, 
and  the  remainder  on  a  line  near  Upper  Agua  Fria,  northeasterly  to  Bullion 
ridge.  The  following  is  the  sequence  of  formations  from  west  to  east : 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS  215 


SECTION  ACROSS  THE  MARIPOSAS. 

1.  Coarser  heavy  conglomerates,  metamorphosed — Bear  mountains, 

2.  Compact  crystalline  slates  ;  crystalline  cleavage. 

3.  Conglomerate ;  slaty. 

4.  Argillaceous  slates,  regularly  stratified  ;  thick  series. 

5.  Sandstone  and  sandy  beds,  (thin.) 

6.  Princeton  gold  vein  ;  quartz  three  feet  thick. 

7.  Argillaceous  slates  and  quartz  veins  ;  the  horizon  of  the  Jurassic  fossils. 

8.  Magnesian  rock  and  quartz  veins. 

9.  Pine  Tree,  or  "  Mother  Vein,"  or  its  extension. 

10.  Argillaceous  slates. 

11.  Conglomerate;  slaty. 

12.  Compact  slates. 

13.  Greenstone,  limited  in  extent ;  probably  a  metamorphosed  sandstone. 

14.  Sandstones  and  sandy  slates. 

15.  Serpentine  and  magnesian  rocks — the  northern  extension  of  Buckeye  ridge. 

16.  Compact  slates,  crystalline  and  much  metamorphosed. 

17.  Conglomerates  and  sandstones,  heavy  and  massive;  the  so-called  "  green- 

stone "  of  Mount  Bullion  range. 

This  is  the  general  outline  of  the  formations.  Both  of  the  bounding  ranges  of 
the  valley  are  formed  by  the  heavy  metamorphic  conglomerates,  so  much  altered 
and  changed  as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable.  They  are  generally  supposed  to 
be  formed  of  greenstone,  and  in  some  places  they  do  not  give  any  evidence  of 
their  sedimentary  origin  ;  in  others,  the  outlines  of  the  pebbles  and  boulders  are 
distinct.  These  boulders  are  remarkably  large  and  heavy.  From  the  general 
similarity  of  the  rocks  of  these  two  ranges — Bear  mountain  on  the  west,  and 
Bullion  range  on  the  east — together  with  the  succession  and  character  of  the. 
formations  between,  I  am  led  to  regard  the  whole  series  as  a  fold  or  plication, 
and  the  valley  as  either  synclinal  or  anticlinal — probably  the  former.* 

Bear  mountain  range  is  prolonged  far  to  the  north  into  Calaveras  county,  and 
there  forms  the  separation  between  the  valley  of  Copperopolis,  traversed  by  the 
Reed  or  Union  copper  lode,  and  the  gold  quartz  region  of  Angel's  camp  and 
Carson  Hill.  The  whole  belt  of  formations  from  Amador  county,  southeastward, 
through  Calaveras,  Tuolumne,  and  Mariposa  counties,  is  an  interesting  field  for 
a  geologist  to  work  up,  to  show  not  only  the  geographical  extent  of  the  rocks 
and  the  veins,  but  the  structure  or  folding  of  the  whole.  The  two  lines  of  hard 
conglomerate  forming  the  high  ridges  are  distinct  for  nearly  the  whole  distance. 
The  serpentine  rocks  which  accompany  the  gold  formation  are  probably  the 
result  of  local  metamorphic  action,  for  they  often  occur  in  lenticular  or  elipsoidal 
patches  in  the  other  rocks.  So  also  the  greenstone,  in  places,  appears  to  be  an 
altered  portion  of  rocks,  which  at  other  points  are  distinctly  sedimentary,  and 
exhibit  slaty  stratification. 

*  The  above  section  of  the  gold  formation  of  the  estate,  and  the  substance  of  the  observa- 
tions upon  it,  were  given  in  a  report  to  F.  L.  Olmsted,  esq.,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
four.  Inedited. 


216  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

SECTION     10. 

LAWS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  FOREIGN  GOVERNMENTS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE 
OCCUPANCY  OF  MINERAL  LANDS  AND  THE  WORKING  OF  MINES. 

1.  The  crown  right. — 2.  Permanent  titles  to  the  mineral  lands  of  the  United  States. 

1.— THE  CROWN  RIGHT. 

[Compiled  from  references  in  the  New  Alinaden  ca^se.] 

By  the  civil  law  all  veins  and  mineral  deposits  of  gold  and  silver  ore,  or  of 
precious  stones,  belonged,  if  in  public  ground,  to  the  sovereign,  and  were  part 
of  his  patrimony ;  but  if  on  private  property,  they  belonged  to  the  owner  of  the 
land,  subject  to  the  condition  that  if  worked  by  the  owner  he  was  bound  to 
render  a  tenth  part  of  the  produce  to  the  prince,  as  a  right  attaching  to  his 
crown ;  and  that,  if  worked  by  any  other  person  by  consent  of  the  owner,  the 
former  was  liable  to  the  payment  of  two-tenths,  one  to  the  prince,  and  one  to 
the  owner  of  the  property.  Subsequently  it  became  an  established  custom  in 
most  kingdoms,  and  was  declared  by  the  particular  laws  and  statutes  of  each, 
that  all  veins  of  the  precious  metals,  and  the  produce  of  such  veins,  should  vest 
in  the  Crown,  and  be  held  to  be  part  of  the  patrimony  of  the  King  or  sovereign 
prince.  That  this  is  the  case  with  respect  to  the  empire  of  Germany,  the  elec- 
torates, France,  Portugal,  Arragon,  and  Catalonia  appears  from  the  laws  of 
each  of  those  countries,  and  from  the  authority  of  various  authors. 

And  the  reason  is,  that  the  metals  are  applicable  to  the  use  of  the  public, 
who  ought  not  to  be  prejudiced  by  any  impediments  being  thrown  in  the  way 
of  the  discovering  and  working  of  their  ores ;  besides  which  their  products 
rank',  not  among  those  of  an  ordinary  description,  but  among  the  most  precious 
the  earth  affords ;  and,  therefore,  instead  of  being  appropriated  to  individuals, 
are  proper  to  be  set  apart  for  the  sovereign  himself,  whose  coffers  being  thus 
enriched,  he  will  be  enabled  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the  people  ;  all  which  is 
set  forth  at  length  by  the  authors  above  referred  to. 

This  question,  as  is  observed  by  the  great  Cardinal  de  Luca,  has  not  received 
any  general  or  uniform  determination,  but  is  decided  by  the  laws  and  customs 
of  each  particular  kingdom  or  principality ;  for  upon  the  breaking  up  of  the 
Roman  empire  the  princes  and  states  which  declared  themselves  independent 
appropriated  to  themselves  those  tracts  of  ground  in  which  nature  had  dis- 
pensed her  more  valuable  products  with  more  than  ordinary  liberality,  which 
reserved  portions  or  rights  were  called  rights  of  the  Crown.  Among  the  chief 
of  the  valuable  products  are  the  metallic  ores  of  the  first  class — as  those  of 
gold,  silver,  and  other  metals  proper  for  forming  money,  which  it  is  essential  for 
sovereigns  to  be  provided  with  in  order  to  support  their  warlike  armaments  by 
sea  or  land,  to  provide  for  the  public  necessities,  and  to  maintain  the  good 
government  of  their  dominions.  And  such  is  the  course  mentioned  in  the  first 
book  of  Maccabees  to  have  been  pursued  by  the  Romans  with  regard  to  the 
mines  of  Spain,  and  such  also  is  the  plan  adopted  by  our  sovereigns  with 
regard  to  those  of  the  Indies,  some  of  which  they  have  reserved  to  themselves,  and 
the  remainder  they  have  left  to  their  subjects,  charged  with  the  payment  of 
a  fifth,  tenth,  or  twentieth  part  of  the  produce. 

According  to  the  law  of  England  the  only  mines  which  are  termed  royal, 
and  which  are  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Crown,  are  mines  of  silver  and 
gold ;  and  this  property  is  so  peculiarly  a  branch  of  the  royal  prerogative 
that  it  has  been  said  that  though  the  King  grant  lands  in  which  mines  are,  and 
all  mines  in  them,  yet  royal  mines  will  not  pass  by  a  general  description, 

This  prerogative  is  said  to  have  originated  in  the  King's  right  of  coinage,  in 
order  to  supply  him  with  materials.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  the 


WEST    OP   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  217 

right  of  coinage  in  the  earlier  periods  of  European  society  was  not  always  ex- 
clusively exercised  by  the  Crown  ;  that  the  same  reason  might  apply  to  other 
metals — as  copper  and  tin — and  that  in  those  rude  times  the  prerogative  was 
perhaps  as  likely  to  have  its  origin  in  the  circumstance  of  those  rare  and 
beautiful  metals  having  always  been  among  the  most  cherished  objects  of  am- 
bition, and  which  were,  therefore,  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Crown,  like 
the  diamonds  of  India,  in  order  to  sustain  the  splendor  and  dignity  of  its  rank. 

Whatever  reason  may  be  assigned  for  this  right  of  the  Crown,  and  of  what- 
ever value  the  right  may  be,  it  has  been  long  decided  not  only  that  all  the  mines 
of  gold  and  silver  within  the  realm,  though  in  the  lands  of  subjects,  belong  ex- 
clusively to  the  Crown  by  prerogative,  but  that  this  right  is  also  accompanied 
with  full  liberty  to  dig  and  carry  away  the  ores,  and  with  all  other  such  inci- 
dents thereto  as  are  necessary  to  be  usual  for  getting  them. 

This  right  of  entry  is  disputed  by  Lord  Hardwicke,  in  a  case  where  there 
was  a  grant  from  the  Crown  of  lands  with  a  reservation  of  all  royal  mines,  but 
not  of  a  right  of  entry.  The  lord  chancellor  said  he  was  of  opinion  that  there 
was  by  the  terms  of  the  grant  no  such  power  in  the  Crown,  and  that  by  the  royal 
prerogative  of  mines  the  Crown  had  given  no  such  power,  for  it  would  be  very 
prejudicial  if  the  Crown  could  enter  into  a  subject's  lands,  or  grant  a  license  to 
work  the  mines ;  but  that  when  they  were  once  opened  it  could  restrain  the 
owner  of  the  soil  from  working  them,  and  could  either  work  them  itself  or  grant 
a  license  for  others  to  work  them. 

In  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  the  rights  of  miners  were  discussed  in  a  legal 
controversy,  in  which  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  England  participated.  Two 
men,  named  Howseter  and  Thurland,  went,  without  permission,  upon  the  lands 
of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  and  commenced  digging  for  copper  ore.  The 
earl  warned  them  off.  They  made  complaint  to  the  Queen's  attorney  general, 
stating  that  the  ores  contained  some  silver  or  gold,  and  he  prosecuted  the  earl 
for  resisting  the  efforts  of  these  miners  in  extracting  the  precious  metals  from 
the  earth,  for  the  reason  that  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  earth  within  the 
realm  belonged  to  the  Queen  and  not  to  the  owner  of  the  land.  All  the  justices 
of  England  heard  the  argument  and  took  part  in  the  discussion. 

The  question  principally  debated  was,  whether  by  the  prerogative  of  the 
Crown  all  ores  containing  silver  or  gold  belonged  to  the  Crown  as  a  part  of 
regalia. 

The  judges  decided  that  all  gold  or  silver  ores  belonged  to  the  Crown, 
whether  in  private  or  public  lands ;  that  any  ores  containing  neither  gold  nor 
silver  belonged  to  the  proprietor  of  the  soil ;  that  the  King  could  grant  away 
mines  of  gold  or  silver,  but  not  without  express  words  in  his  patent  demon- 
strating his  intention  to  sever  the  mines  from  his  royal  patrimony. 

Some  of  the  reasons  upon  which  the  arguments  were  based  were  expressed  in 
felicitous  though  quaint  languag-'e,  and  are  worthy  of  being  reproduced  : 

1.  "  And  the  reason  is  that  metals  are  applicable  to  the  use  of  the  public, 
&c. ;  besides  which,  their  products  rank,  not  among 
those  of  an  ordinary  description,  but  among  the  most  precious  the  earth  af- 
fords, and,  therefore,  instead  of  bfcing  appropriated  to  individuals,  are  proper  to 
be  set  apart  for  the  sovereign  himself,  whose  coffers,  being  thus  enriched,  &c. 

Among  the  chief  of  the  valuable  products  are  the  metallic 
ores  of  the  first  class,  as  those  of  gold,  silver,  and  other  metals  proper  for  form- 
ing money,  which  it  is  essential  for  the  sovereign  to  be  provided  with  in  order 
to  support  their  warlike  armaments  by  sea  and  land,  to  provide  for  the  public 
necessities,  and  to  maintain  the  good  government  of  their  dominions,"  &c.,  &c. 
— {And.  Plowdin,  315.) 

2.  "As  to  the  first  of  these  three  points  Onslow  alleged  three  reasons  why 
the  King  shall  have  the  mines  and  ores  of  gold  or  silver  within  the  realm  in 
whatever  land  they  are  found.   The  first  was  in  respect  to  the  excellency  of  the 


218  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

thing ;  and  the  common  law,  which  is  founded  upon  rea- 

son, appropriates  everything  to  the  person  whom  it  best  suits,  as  common  and 
trivial  things  to  the  common  people,  things  of  more  worth  to  persons  in  a  higher 
and  superior  class,  and  things  most  excellent  to  those  persons  who  excel  all 
others ;  and  because  gold  and  silver  are  the  most  excellent  things  which  the 
soil  contains,  the  law  has  appropriated  them  (as  in  reason  it  ought)  to  the  per- 
son who  is  most  excellent,  and  that  is  the  King." 

3.  "  For  the  same  reason,  he  says,  it  has  given  him  "whales  and  sturgeons  " 
which  are  in  the  sea  in  England — that  is,  "in  the  arms  of  the  sea  or  water  within 
the  land,  so  that  the  excellency  of  the  King's  person  draws  to  it  things  of  an 
excellent  nature.  The  second  reason  was  in  respect  of  the  necessity  of  the 
thing ;  for  the  King  is  the  head  of  the  public  weal,  and  the  subjects  are  his 
members,  and  the  office  of  the  King,  to  which  the  law  has  appointed  him,  is  to 
preserve  his  subjects ;  and  their  preservation  consists  in  two  things,  viz  :  in  an 
army  to  defend  them  against  hostilities,  and  in  good  laws.  And  an  army  cannot 
be  had  and  maintained  without  treasure,  for  which  reason  some  authors,  in  their 
books,  call  treasure  the  sinews  of  war.  And,  there- 

fore, as  God  has  created  mines  within  this  realm  as  a  natural  provision  of  treas- 
ure for  the  defence  of  the  realm,  it  is  reasonable  that  he  who  has  the  govern- 
ment and  care  of  the  people*  whom  he  cannot  defend  without  treasure,  should 
have  the  treasure  wherewith  to  defend  them.  The  third  reason  was  in  respect 
©f  its  convenience  to  the  subjects  in  the  way  of  mutual  commerce  and  traffic ; 
but  one  has  need  of  the  things  which  another  has,  and  they  cannot  sell  or  buy 
together  without  coin.  It  belongs  to  the  King  only  to  fix  the  value  of  coin,  and 
to  ascertain  the  price  of  the  quantity,  and  to  put  the  print  upon  it ;  for  if  he 
(a  subject)  makes  coin,  it  was  high  treason  by  the  common  law." 


Act  of  Congress  for  tlie  occupation  and  sale  of  the  mineral  lands  of  tlie  United 

States. 

In  the  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  year  1865,  the 
substitution  of  an  absolute  title  in  fee  for  the  indefinite  possessory  rights  or 
claims  under  which  the  mines  were  held  by  private  parties  was  earnestly  rec- 
ommended. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Secretary's  report  embody  the  main  consid- 
erations by  which  Congress  was  governed  in  the  passage  of  the  act  approved 
August,  1866: 

"  The  attention  of  Congress  is  again  called  to  the  importance  of  early  and 
definite  action  upon  the  subject  of  our  mineral  lands,  in  which  subject  are  iiv 
volved  questions  not  only  of  revenue,  but  social  questions  of  a  most  interesting 
character. 

"  Copartnership  relations  between  the  government  and  miners  will  hardly  be 
proposed,  and  a  system  of  leasehold,  (if  it  were  within  the  constitutional 
authority  of  Congress  to  adopt  it,  and  if  it  were  consistent  with  the  character 
and  genius  of  our  people,)  after  the  lessons*  which  have  been  taught  of  its 
practical  results  in  the  lead  and  copper  districts,  cannot  of  course  be  recon> 
mended. 

"After  giving  the  subject  as  much  examination  as  the  constant  pressure  of 
official  duties  would  permit,  the  Secretary  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
best  policy  to  be  pursued  with  regard  to  these  lands  is  the  one  which  shall 
substitute  an  absolute  title  in  fee  for  the  indefinite  possessory  rights  or  claims 
now  asserted  by  miners. 

"  The  right  to  obtain  a  « fee  simple  in  the  soil '  would  invite  to  the  mineral 
districts  men  of  character  and  enterprise  ;  by  creating  homes,  (which  will  not 
be  found  where  title  to  property  cannot  be  secured,)  it  would  give  permanency 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  219 

to  the  settlements,  and,  by  the  stimulus  which  ownership  always  produces,  ft 
would  result  in  a  thorough  and  regular  development  of  the  mines. 

"  A  bill  for  the  subdivision  and  sale  of  the  gold  and  silver  lands  of  the  United 
States  was  under  consideration  by  the  last  Congress,  to  which  attention  is 
respectfully  called.  If  the  enactment  of  this  bill  should  not  be  deemed  expe- 
dient, and  no  satisfactory  substitute  can  be  reported  for  the  sale  of  these  lands 
to  the  highest  bidder,  on  account  of  the  possessory  claims  of  miners,  it  will 
then  be  important  that  the  policy  of  extending  the  principle  of  pre-emption  to  . 
the  mineral  districts  be  considered.  It  is  not  material,  perhaps,  how  the  end 
shall  be  attained,  but  there  can  be  no  question  that  it  is  of  the  highest  import- 
ance, in  a  financial  and  social  point  of  view,  that  ownership  of  these  lands,  in 
limited  quantities  to  each  purchaser,  should  be  within  the  reach  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  who  may  desire  to  explore  and  develop  them. 

"  In  this  connection  it  may  be  advisable  for  Congress  to  consider  whether  the 
prosperity  of  the  treasure-producing  districts  would  not  be  increased,  and  the 
convenience  of  miners  greatly  promoted,  by  the  establishment  .of  an  assay 
office  in  every  mining  district  from  which  an  annual  production  of  gold  and 
silver  amounting  to  tejpnaaillions  of  dollars  is  actually  obtained." 


F?'n     "' 

IryAfONNE 


>NNES,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  of  the  Senate, 
ic  the  following  report,  May  28,  1866  : 

The  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  to  whom  was  ^referred  Senate  bill  No, 
257,  "An  act  to  regulate  the  occupation  of  mineral  lands,  and  to  .extend  the 
right  of  pre-emption  thereto"  have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  and 
beg  leave  to  report  a  substitute,  and  to  recommend  its  passage. 

By  this  bill  it  is  only  proposed  to  dispose  of  the  vein  mines,  and  to  provide 
for  the  segregation  of  the  agricultural  lands  lying  within  the  mineral  regions. 
The  proposition  contained  in  it  is  to  transfer  the  title  of  the  United  States  to 
the  possessors  at  a  reasonable  rate,  and  as  a  part  of  that  rate  to  secure  the  pay- 
ment of  a  percentage  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  vein  mines  into,  the  treasury, 
until  the  present  burdensome  public  debt  shall  be  paid  ;  this  percentage  to  be  in 
lieu  of  all  tax  imposed  upon  bullion  at  the  mints  and  assay  offices  under  ex- 
isting laws. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  interfere  with,  or  impose  any  tax  upon,  the  miners  en- 
gaged in  working  placer  mines,  as  those  mines  are  readily  exhausted,  and  not 
generally  remunerative  to  those  engaged  in  working  t!iwi 

Your  committee,  in  arriving  at  the  conclusions  they  have;'and  recommending 
the  passage  of  an  act  to"  pro  vide  for  investing  the  miners  of  the  country  with  the 
fee-simple  to  their  vein  mines,  have  not  been  unmindful  of  what  the  country 
owes  to  the  enterprising  men  who  have  gone  into  the  forests  and  recesses  of  the 
western  States  and  Territories,  and  who  have  developed  to  the  commerce  of 
the  world  the  heretofore  hidden  treasures  therein  ;  they  who,  by  patient  and 
often  ill-requited  toil,  without  aid  from  the  government  in  any  manner  whatever, 
have  shown  the  ample  foundation  of  the  national  credit  in  the  mineral  resources 
of  the  public  domain.  That  policy  by  which  the  greatest  amount  of  the  precious 
metals  shall  be  produced,  and  the  greatest  individual  and  aggregate  wealth 
amassed  by  our  own  people,  must  be  the  wisest  and  b<\~t. 

There  has  been  constant  fear  felt  by  those  who  &re  engaged  in  promoting 
these  results  that  some  disturbance  and  interference  with  vested  rights  of 
property  would  occur.  Measures  for  the  sale  of  the  mines  and  for  the  taxation 
of  those  engaged  in  working  them  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  proposed, 
creating  the  deepest  apprehensions  and  most  seriously  affecting  mining  property. 
It  is  a  first  duty  that  all  such  doubts  and  fears  shall  be  set  at  rest  by  the  pro* 


220  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

mulgation  of  a  policy  which  shall  give  full  and  complete  protection  to  all  exist- 
ing possessory  rights  upon  liberal  conditions,  and  with  full  and  complete  legal 
guarantees,  and  to  provide  the  most  generous  conditions  looking  toward  further 
explorations  and  developments. 

There  are  widely  differing  opinions  as  to  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued  be- 
tween the  population  of  the  mining  regions  and  the  people  of  the  east,  whose 
representatives  in  Congress  too  often,  without  exact  knowledge  on  the  subject, 
propose  heavy  burdens  upon  the  mining  industry.  The  mass  of  people  living  in 
the  mines  feel  that  the  mines  should  be  left  free  and  open  to  and  within  the 
reach  of  the  hardy  explorer  and  adventurer  without  tax  or  impost  whatever ;  nay, 
feeling  the  many  disappointments  and  failures  to  which  they  are  subject  in  their 
efforts  to  acquire  wealth  from  this  source,  they  believe  that  the  government  of- 
the  United  States,  which  they  love,  should  rather  offer  rewards  from  the  public 
treasury  for  the  discovery  of  mines,  than  that  such  discovery  should  be  but  the 
signal  for  measures  of  taxation. 

They  also  fear  all  systems  of  sale,  lest  any  which  should  be  adopted  might 
result  in  a  monopoly  of  the  mines  and  their  concentration  into  few  hands. 
They  are  jealous  of  all  systems  for  the  disposition  of  the  mineral  lands  which 
shall  allow  the  lands  to  be  bought  by  the  fortunate  possessors  of  large  capital, 
in  extensive  bodies,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  men  whose  only  capital  consists  in 
their  labor.  They,  nevertheless,  will  readily  acquiesce  in  any  plan  which  shall 
confirm  existing  rights  at  reasonable  rates,  and  which  shall  be  safe  against  the 
evils  to  which  your  committee  have  referred. 

The  amount  proposed  is  five  dollars  per  acre  for  the  vein  mines  and  all  the 
land  adjoining  necessary  for  working  them,  and  the  payment  of  three  per  cent, 
of  the  net  product  of  all  such  mines  into  the  treasury  of  the  United  States, 
which  shall  be  in  lieu  of  the  present  impost. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  present  tax  was  adopted  in  preference  to  the 
five  per  cent,  tax  on  the  gross  proceeds  of  the  mines  proposed  by  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1864.  Any  tax  on  the  gross  product  of  mines  must  be 
purely  a  tax  upon  effort,  and  must  result,  as  the-  recent  tax  on  crude  petroleum 
did,  in  the  ruin  of  those  engaged  in  the  business,  arid  a  serious  limit  on  pro- 
duction. 

Another  feature  of  the  bill  recommended  is,  that  it  adopts  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  miners  in  the  mining  districts  where  the  same  are  not  in  conflict  with 
the  laws  of  the  United  States.  This  renders  secure  all  existing  rights  of  prop- 
erty, and  will  prove  at  once  a  just  and  popular  feature  of  the  new  policy.  Those 
"  rules  an$  regulations"  are  well  understood,  and  form  the  basis  of  the  present 
admirable  system  in  the  mining  regions  :  arising  out  of  necessity,  they  became 
the  means  adopted  by  the  people  themselves  for  establishing  just  protection  to 
all. 

In  the  absence  of  legislation  and  statute  law,  the  local  courts,  beginning  with 
California,  recognize  those  "  rules  and  regulations,"  the  central  idea  of  which 
was  priority  of  possession,  and  hare  given  to  the  country  rules  of  decision  so 
equitable  as  to  be  commanding  in  its  natural  justice,  and  to  have  secured  uni- 
versal approbation.  The  California  reports  will  compare  favorably,  in  this  re- 
spect, with  the  history  of  jurisprudence  in-  any  part  of  the  world.  Thus  the 
miners'  "  rules  and  regulations"  are  not  only  well  understood,  but  have  been 
construed  and  adjudicated  for  now  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  how  essential  it  is  that  this  great  system,  established 
by  the  people  in  their  primary  capacities,  and  evidencing  by  the  highest  possible 
testimony  the  peculiar  genius  of  the  American  people  for  founding  empire  and 
order,  shall  be  preserved  and  affirmed.  Popular  sovereignty  is  here  displayed 
in  one  of  its  grandest  aspects,  and  simply  invites  us  not^to  destroy,  but  to  put 
upon  it  the  stamp  of  national  power  and  unquestioned  authorityTJ 

This  should  be  dont;  generously,  'for  the  nation's  sake,     "Chose  brave  men 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  221 

who  have  established  a  high  civilization  on  the  far-off  Pacific,  whose  hearts,  in 
the  nation's  trials,  beat  so  true,  and  who  are  now  fast  closing  in  upon  the  civili- 
zation of  your  owfi  west,  should  he  made  to  feel,  not  that  you  are  masters,  but 
brethren  and  friends. 

By  their  loyalty  they  gave  you  peace  where  your  power  was  scarcely  felt  ; 
by  their  industry  they  gave  the  solid  base  of  silver  and  gold  to  the  national 
issues  and  the  .  national  credit,  and  it  is  left  to  history  to  balance  and  to  tell 
how,  without  that  peace  their  patriotism  so  well  preserved,  and  that  silver  and 
gold  which  their  industry  gave  the  nation,  the  national  cause  could  have  been 
equally  benefited.  From  their  earnings,  too,  came  those  contributions  which 
will  forever  form  so  beautiful  a  chaplet  around  their  own  brows.  They  set  the 
highest  example  of  a  Christian  people,  patriotic  a.nd  peaceful,  sturdy  and  loyal 


tnjfcepfloTn.  industrious  and  charitable.  It  is  for  such  a  people  that  we  legislate. 
[  The  necessity  for  the  segregation  of  the  agricultural  part  of  the  public  domain 
from  that  which  is  purely  mineral  is  of  the  first  character.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  mining  alone  cannot  supply  a  single  human  want,  and  no  community 
would'  eventually  be  so  poor  as  a  mining  community  purely.  But  the  miner  is 
nearly  always  the  pioneer  of  society  where  mines  exist  —  shortly,  however,  to  be 
followed  by  the  agriculturist  and  the  artisan.  Mutual  production  and  ex- 
change result,  and  society  is  established.  Nothing  renders  society  so  stable 
as  giving  to  the  people  the  title  to  the  land  upon  which  they  live.  They  learn 
to  love,  it,  and  are  the  first  to  find  out  its  greatest  value,  and  consequently  to 
employ  it  for  the  highest  uses.  Homes  of  a  permanent  character  are  thus"e"s\. 
tablished,  and  the  school-house  and  church  follow  to  light  the  path  and  to 
cheer  the  way  through  life.  To  these  ends  the  earliest  ownership  should  be 
given  to  him  who,  by  patient  and  virtuous  toil,  proposes  to  become  a  corner- 
stone to  community.  Every  wise  consideration  demands  that  the  segregation 
of  the  agricultural  lands  from  those  purely  mining  should  be  made,  and  this  bill 
makes  such  provision. 

Your  committee  are  aware  that  they  tread  new  ground,  but  they  bring  many 
years  of  experience  to  the  task,  and  the  light  has  been  used  to  reach  the  end 
which  wi^jDromote  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  citizen  and  the  glory  of  the 
republicJJL/ 

>  Ate*««*C'^<£' 

[The  following  is  &,copy  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  August  —  ,  1866,  to 
legalize  the  occupation  of  the  mineral  lands,  and  for  other  purposes  : 

SECTION  1.  That  the  mineral  lands  of  the  public  domain,  both  surveyed  and 
unsurveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  open  to  exploration  and  occu- 
pation by  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  those  who  have  declared  their 
intention  to  become  citizens,  subject  to  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  law,  and  subject  also  to  local  'custom  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  several  mining 
districts,  so  far  as  the  same  may  not  be  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  person  or  association 
of  persons  claim  a  vein  or  lode  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing  gold, 
silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper,  having  previously  occupied  and  improved  the  same 
according  to  the  local  custom  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  district  where  the  same 
is  situated,  and  having  expended  in  actual  labor  and  improvements  thereon  an 
amount  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  in  regard  to  whose  possession 
there  is  no  controversy  or  opposing  claim,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  said 
claimant  or  association  of  claimants  to  file  in  the  local  land  ofiice  a  diagram  of 
the  same,  so  extended  laterally  or  otherwise  as  to  conform  to  the  local  laws, 
eustoms,  and  rules  of  miners,  and  to  enter  such  tract  and  receive  a  patent 
therefor,  granting  such  mine,  together  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  or 

*  See  Congressional  Globe  for  debates  on  this  bill 


222        RESOURCES  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

lode,  with  its  dips,  angles,  and  variations,  to  any  depth,  although  it  may  enter 
the  land  adjoining,  which  land  adjoining  shall  be  sold  subject  to  this  condition. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  upon  the  filing  of  the  diagram  as 
provided  in  the  second  section  of  this  act,  and  posting  the  same  in  a  conspicu- 
ous place  on  the  claim,  together  with  a  notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  a  patent, 
the  register  of  the  land  office  shall  publish  a  notice  of  the  same  in  a  newspa- 
per published  nearest  to  the  location  of  said  claim,  and  shall  also  post  such 
notice  in  his  office  lor  the  period  of  ninety  days  ;  and  after  the  expiration  of 
Baid  period,  if  no  adverse  claim  shall  have  been  filed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
surveyor  general,  upon  application  of  the  party,  to  survey  the  premises  and 
make  a  plat  thereof,  indorsed  with  his  approval,  designating  the  number  and 
description  of  the  location,  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements,  and  the 
character  of  the  vein  exposed ;  and  upon  the  payment  to  the  proper  officer  of 
five  dollars  per  acre,  together  with  the  cost  of  such  survey,  plat,  and  notice, 
and  giving  satisfactory  evidence  that  said  diagram  and  notice  have  been  posted 
on  the  claim  during  said  period  of  iJfcnety  days,  the  register  of  the  land  office 
shall  transmit  to  the  General  Land  Office  said  plat,  survey,  and  description ; 
and  a  patent  shall  issue  for  the  same  thereupon.  But  said  plat,  survey,  or  de- 
scription shall  in  no  case  cover  more  than  one  vein  or  lode,  and  no  patent  shall 
issue  for  more  than  one  vein  or  lode,  which  shall  be  expressed  in  the  patent 
issued. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  such  location  and  entry  of  a 
mine  shall  be  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful,  after  the  ex- 
tension thereto  of  the  public  surveys,  to  adjust  the  surveys  to  the  limits  of  the 
premises  according  to  the  location  and  possession/and  plat  aforesaid,  and  the 
surveyor  general  may,  in  extending  the  surveys,  vary  the  same  from  a  rec- 
tangular form  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  country  and  the  local  rules,  laws, 
and  customs  of  miners :  Provided,  That  no  location  hereafter  made  shall  ex- 
ceed two  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  vein  for  each  locator,  with  an  addi- 
tional claim  for  discovery  to  the  discoverer  of  the  lode,  with  the  right  to  follow 
such  vein  to  any  depth,  with  all  its  dips,  variations,  and  angles,  together  with 
a  reasonable  quantity  of  surface  for  the  convenient  working  of  the  same  as  fixed 
by  local  rules  :  And  provided  further,  That  no  person  may  make  more  than 
one  location  on  the  same  lode,  and  not  more  than  three  thousand  feet  shall  be 
taken  in  any  one  claim  by  any  association  of  persons. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  as  a  further  condition  of  sale,  in  the 
absence  of  necessary  legislation  by  Congress,  the  local  legislature  of  any  State 
or  Territory  may  provide  rules  for  working  mines  involving  easements,  drain- 
age, and  other  necessary  means  to  their  complete  development ;  and  those  con- 
ditions shall  be  fully  expressed  in  the  patent. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  adverse  claimants  to 
any  mine  located  and  claimed  as  aforesaid  shall  appear  before  the  approval  of 
the  survey,  as  provided  in  the  third  section  of  this  act,  all  proceedings  shall  be 
stayed  until  a  final  settlement  and  adjudication  in  the  courts  of -competent  juris- 
diction of  the  rights  of  possession  to  such  claim,  when  a  patent  may  issue  as  in 
other  cases. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  to  establish  additional  land  districts,  and  to  ap- 
point the  necessary  officers  under  existing  laws,  wherever  he  may  deem  the 
same  necessary  for  the  public  convenience  in  executing  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  right  of  way  for  the  construe 
tion  of  highways  over  public  lands,  not  reserved  for  public  uses,  is  hereby 
granted. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever,  by  priority  of  possession, 
rights  to  the  use  of  water  for  mining,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  or  other  pur- 
poses, have  vested  and  accrued,  and  the  same  are.  recognized  and  acknowledged 


WEST    OF    THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  223 

by  "the  local  customs,  laws,  and  the  decisions  of  courts,  the  possessors  and  own- 
ers of  such  vested  rights  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  same  ;  and 
the  right  of  way  for  the  construction  of  ditches  and  canals  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid  is  hereby  acknowledged  and  confirmed.  Provided,  however :  That 
whenever,  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  any  person  or  persons  shall,  in  the  con- 
struction of  any  ditch  or  canal,  injure  or  damage  the  possession  of  any  settler 
on  the  public  domain,  the  party  committing  such  injury  or  damage  shall  be  liable 
to  the  party  injured  for  such  injury  or  damage. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  wherever,  prior  to«the  passage  of 
this  act,  upon  the  lands  heretofore  designated  as  mineral  lands,  which  have  been 
excluded  from  survey  and  sale,  there  have  been  homesteads  made  by  citizens  of 
the  'United  States,  or  persons  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citi- 
zens,-which  homesteads  have  been  made,  improved,  and  used  for  agricultural 
purposes,  and  upon  which  there  have  been  no  valuable  mines  of  gold,  silver, 
cinnabar,  or  copper  discovered,  and  which  are  properly  agricultural  lands,  the 
said  settlers  or  owners  of  such  homesteads  shall  have  a  right  of  pre-emption 
thereto,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  purchase  the  same  at  the  price  of  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  and  in  quantity  not,  to  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres ;  or  said  parties  may  avail  themselves  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  May  20,  1862,  entitled  "An  act  to  secure  homesteads  to  actual 
settlers  on  the  public  domain,"  and  acts  amendatory  thereof. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  upon  the  survey  of  the  lands  afore- 
said, the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  designate  and  set  apart  such  .portions  of 
the  said  lands  as  are  clearly  agricultural  lands,  which  lands  shall  thereafter  be 
subject  to  pre-emption  and  sale  as  other  public  lands  of  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  all  the  laws  and  regulations  applicable  to  the  samej 

2.— PERMANENT  TITLES  TO  MINERAL  LANDS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

In  glancing  back  over  the  history  of  California  for  the  last  eighteen  years, 
we  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  the  State  has,  for  the  want  of  a  permanent 
mining  population,  lost  what  would  be  worth  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of 
money.  The  work  has  been  done  mostly  by  men  who  had  no  homes,  and  who 
did  not  intend  to  remain  in  California.  Their  enterprises  generally  were  under- 
taken for  the  purpose  of  making  the  most  profit  in  a  brief  time.  There  was 
no  proper  care  for  ,1  distant  future  ;  and  without  such  care  no  society  is  sound, 
no  State  truly  prosperous.  If  a  claim  could,  by  hastily  washing,  be  made  to 
pay  $10  per  day  to  the  hand  for  three  months,  or  $6  for  three  years  by  a  care- 
ful washing,  the  hasty  washing  was  preferred.  If  a  fertile  valley  that  would 
have  yielded  a  revenue  of  $5  per  acre  for  century  after  century  to  a  farmer 
could  l?e  made  to  yield  $5  per  day  to  a  miner  for  one  summer,  its  loam  was 
washed  away,  and  a  useless  and  ugly  bed  of  gravel  was  left  in  its  place.  The 
flukes,  the  ditches,  the  dwellings,  the  roads,  and  the  towns  were  constructed 
with  almost  exclusive  regard  to  immediate  wants.  The  good  turnpike  roads 
were  private  property*  on  which  heavy  tolls  were  levied,  so  that  not  unfre- 
quently  a  gentleman  in  a  one-horse  buggy  would  have  to  pay  $5  or  $10  toll  in 
a  day's  travel.  The  claims  were  made  small,  so  that  everybody  should  have  a 
chance  to  get  one ;  but  the  pay-dirt  was  soon  exhausted,  and  then  there  mu«t  be 
a  move.  In  such  a  state  of  affairs  miners  generally  could  not  send  for  iheir 
families  or  make  elegant  homes.  Living  alone  and  lacking  the  influences  and 
amusements  of  home-life,  they  became  wasteful  and  wild.  Possessing  no  title 
to  the  land,  they  did  nothing  to  give  it  value,  and  were  i;eady  to  abandon  it  at 
any  moment.  The  farmers,  merchants,  and  other  fixed  residents  of  the  mining 
counties  are  agitated  and  frightened  nearly  every  year  by  the  danger  of  a 
migration  of  the  miners  to  some  distant  place.  One  year  it  is  Peru ;  another  it 
is  British  Columbia,  Idaho,  Reese  river,  Pahranagat,  or  Arizona ;  and  it  may 
next  be  Brazil,  Liberia,  or  Central  Africa,  for  all  we  know. 


224  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

The  losses  to  individuals  and  to  the  State  have  been  so  great  from  these 
migrations  that  for  years  past  there  has  been  an  increasing  desire  for  some 
.change  in  the  tenure  of  mining  ..lands,  so  that  the  mining  population  shall  be 
attached  to  the  soil,  and  thus  have  an  opportunity  and  a  motive  for  establish- 
ing permanent  homes  and  a  personal  interest  in  improving  and  enriching  the 
country.  The  act  of  Congress  passed  at  the  last  session  for  the  granting  of 
fee-simple  titles  to  lode  mines,  and  to  the  agricultural  lands  in  the  mineral  dis- 
tricts, is  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  better  era  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  So  so<an  as  the  necessary  surveys  can  be  completed,  many  applications 
will  be  made  for  patents,  and  in  a  few  years  great  and  beneficial  changes  will 
result.  Such  is  the  general  opinion  among  the  more  intelligent  miners  and 
public  men  of  the  coast.  As  an  indication  of  the  manner  in  which  the  news  of 
the  passage  of  the  act  was  received,  the  following  passages  are  quoted  from 
leading  editorials  in  influential  newspapers  : 

The  San  Francisco  Bulletin,  in  its  issue  of  July  31st,  said  : 
(^No  measure  of  equal  consequence  to  the  material,  and,  we  may  add,  to  the 
moral  interests  of  the  Pacific  States,  was  ever  before  passed  by  Congress. 
*  The  passage  of  the  bill,  whatever  defects  it  may  develop  when 
more  critically  examined  and  enforced,  marks  a  change  in  the  public  land  policy 
equal  in  importance  to  the  adoption  of  the  pre-emption  and  homestead  system ; 
•  indeed  its  practical  effect  will  be  to  extend  the  now  unquestionable  benefits  of 
that  system  to  the  vast  field  of  the  opineral  regions  which  have  hitherto  been 
largely  excluded  from  those  benefits^!  *  *  *  It  was  one  of  the,greatest 
evils  of  the  negative  policy  of  Congress  regarding  the  mineral  lands  that,  while 
it  prevented  our  own  people  from  acquiring  titles  to  them,  it  opened  their  trea- 
sures freely  to  the  transient  adventurers  from  abroad,  who  only  came  to  take 
them  away  without  leaving  any  equivalent.  As  a  measure  calculated  to  give 
homogeneity  and  fixedness  to  our  population,  security  to  titles,  and  encourage- 
ment to  investments  of  capital  and  labor,  the  new  mining  law  is  full  of  promise. 
We  believe  it  will  have  the  effect  also  to  stimulate  exploration  and  production 
in  the  mining  districts.  |jts  good  features  are  apparent ;  its  bad  ones  will  appear 
in  time  and  can  be  easily  remedied^ 

The  Alta  Californian  of  the  same  date,  said  : 

"  The  passage  of  the  bill  will  be  regarded  in  future  timea  as  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  State.  It  offers  a  patent  to  every  lode  miner  who  desires  it ;  it 
opens  all  the  agricultural  land  in  the  mineral  districts  to  pre-emption  and  home- 
stead claims,  and  it  will  give  secure  titles,  build  up  comfortable  homes,  and  fix 
a  large  permanent  population  in  the  rich  mining  country  of  the  Pacific  slope." 

The  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  in  its  issue  of  the  14th  of  July,  1866,  spoke 
thus,  editorially :  , 

"  The  papers  generally  throughout  the  State  (California)  and  Nevada  appear 
to  approve  the  bill;  and  so  far  as  we  can  judge  there  is«,  general  feeling  favor- 
able to  its  passage,  as  a  necessity  for  quieting  the  public  mind  upon  this  vexa- 
tious question." 

The  Stockton  Independent  of  January  8,  1866,  spoke  thus  of  some  of  the 
evils  which  this  bill  was  designed  to  cure  : 

M  There  are  now  over  one  hundred  thousand  adult  men  asd  women  in  the  mines 
of  California  and  Nevada  without  homes  or  the  possibility  of  acquiring  them 
Shall  we  let  this  preposterous  rule  go  on  from  generation  to  generation,  until 
from  hundreds  of  thousands  this  nomadic  population  amounts  up  to  millions  and 
tens  of  millions  ?  From  the  twenty-seventh  to  the  forty-seventh  meridian  of 
longitude,  and  from  latitude  thiriy-four  to  the  extremest  northern  line  of  the 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  225 

• 

United  States,  all  is  mineral  land — all  has  been  prospected"  and  proven  to  be 
such. 

Is  it  the  part  of  wise  statesmanship  to  adopt  as  a  permanent  law  the  rule  that 
the  millions  who  are  in  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  to  occupy  this  vast  area 
— over  one-third  of  our  territory — shall  be  without  homes  ?  Such  a  thing  is 
horrible  to  contemplate.  Compared  with  it  the  anarchy  and  social  demorali- 
zation which  have  reigned  in  Mexico,  Peru,  and  other  Spanish  American  coun- 
tries for  the  last  half  century  are  as  nothing.  The  policy  is  wholly  opposed  to 
the  instincts  and  habits  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race — opposed  to  the  idea  of  law 
and  government.  It  invites  the  nation  to  anarchy  and  offers  a  premium  to 
crime  and  pauperism. 

It  is  high  time  that  the  rule  were  changed.  All  the  mineral  lands  ought  to 
be  surveyed  in  small  lots  and  sold,  or  at  least  given  away  in  fee  to  the  occupants. 

These  people  should  have  homes  and  the  means  of  acquiring  permanent 
property  and  status  as  citizens." 

The  Sacramento  Union  of  the  23d  of  June  said : 

"  There  are  many  miners  who  feel  as  deep  an  interest  in  the  matter  as  others 
who  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  farming,  for  prosperous  miners,  who  do  not 
wish  to  abandon  the  hills  and  valleys  where  they  have  harvested  fortune,  have 
a  passion  for  pretty  homes  and  a  blooming  ranch.  Upon  the  whole,  this  bill 
has  been  framed  with  a  more  intelligent  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  people  of 
the  Pacific  coast  than  any  other  previous  measure  that  we  can  now  recall,  and 
it  is  probable  that  its  provisions  can  be  executed  without  inflicting  injury  upon 
the  rights  which  accrued  under  the  policy  hitherto  pursued  by  the  government . 
It  is  a  great  stride  towards  the  final  adjustment  of  a  dangerous  question,  and  a 
vast  improvement  upon  the  measures  broached  at  Washington  at  various  periods 
during  the  past  three  years." 

Governor  McCormick,  of  Arizona,  in  his  annual  message  delivered  to  the 
legislature  on  the  8th  of  October,  1866,  said  : 

"  The  act  of  Congress  to  legalize  the  occupation  of  mineral  lands,  and  to  ex- 
tend the  rights  of  pre-emption  thereto,  adopted  at  the  late  session,  preserves  all 
that  is  best  in  the  system  created  by  miners  themselves,  and  saves  all  vested 
rights  under  that  system,  while  offering  a  permanent  title  to  all  who  desire  it, 
at  a  mere  nominal  cost.  It  is  a  more  equitable  and  practicable  measure  than 
the  people  of  the  mineral  districts  had  supposed  Congress  would  adopt,  and 
credit  for  its  liberal  and  acceptable  provisions  is  largely  due  to  the  influence  of 
the  representatives  of  the  Pacific  coast,  including  our  own  intelligent  delegate. 
While  it  is  not  without  defects,  as  a  basis  of  legislation  it  is  highly  promising, 
and  must  lead  to  stability  and  method,  and  so  inspire  increased  confidence  and 
zeal  in  quartz  mining." 

The  Virginia  Enterprise,  the  leading  journal  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  in  its 
issue  of  July  13,  advocating  the  passage  of  the  bill,  said  : 

"  The  bill  proposes  nothing  but  what  already  exists,except  giving  a  perfect  title 
to  the  owners  of  any  mine  who  may  desire  it.  But  the  effect  of  this  single  title 
clause,  if  the  bill  becomes  a  law,  will  be  of  wonderful  benefit  to  our  §tate.  Do- 
mestic, and  especially  foreign  capitalists,  who  have  been  restrained  from  invest- 
ing in  our  mines  on  account  of  the  uncertain  tenure  by  which  they  were  held, 
and  the  general  insecurity  of  title,  will  not  hesitate  to  invest  when  they  are 
guaranteed  unmolested  and  permanent  possession  by  the  government.  It  will 
give  an  impetus  to  prospecting,  for  discoveries  will  be  salable ;  to  develop- 
ments and  heavy  operations  generally,  for  titles  will  be  quiet  and  secure.  It 
will  create  an  unprecedented  demand  for  labor,  and  inaugurate  enduring  pros- 
perity throughout  the  State.  The  poor  and  the  rich,  the  workingman  and  the 
capitalist,  will  be  equally  benefited  by  it." 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 15 


226  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

» 

It  may  be  useless  to  regret  past  mistakes,  and  there  is  some  difference  of 
opinion  among  miners  whether  any  serious  mistake  has  been  made,  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  if  the  mining  population  could  have  been  made  permanent  residents 
of  the  various  counties  as  early  as  1849,  California  would  now  be  thrice  as  rich, 
in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  as  she  is  at  present.  Her  gold  produce  alone  has 
been  $900,000,000;  and  the  produce  of  her  agriculture  and  other  branches  of 
industry  has  been  nearly  as  much,  and  yet  the  total  assessed  value  of  the  tax- 
able property  of  the  State  is  only  $180,000,000,  of  which  nearly  half  is  land 
alone;  so  it  seems  California,  with  all  her  wonderful  wealth,  intelligence,  and  in- 
dustry, has  made  only  five  per  cent,  profit  on  her  business  in  a  period  of  twenty 
years  of  such  an  abundance  of  gold  and  comparative  cheapness  of  the  necessaries 
of  life  as  were  never  witnessed  elsewhere  in  the  world. 


SECTION   11. 

1.  Mining  laws. — 2.  Need  of  congressional  legislation. — 3.  Customary  limitation  of  size. — 4. 
Proposed  width  of  claims. — 5.  Work  required  to  hold  claims. — 6.  Proposed  change  as  to 
work  required. — 7.  Law  needed  for  centuries  of  mining. — 8.  Congress  alone  can  estab- 
lish uniformity. — 9.  Miners'  regulations  in  Nevada  county. — 10.  Miners'  regulations  in 
Sierra  county. — 11.  Miners'  regulations  in  Tuolumne  county. — 11 J.  'Miners'  regulations 
in  Sacramento  county. — 12.  Miners' regulations  in  Columbia  district. — 13.  Miners'  regu- 
lations in  North  San  Juan  district. — 14.  Miners'  regulations  in  Pilot  Hill  district. — 15. 
Miners'  regulations  in  New  Kanaka  camp. — 16.  Miners'  regulations  in  Copperopolis  dis- 
trict,—17.  Statute  of -Nevada.— 18.  Blank  district,  Nevada— 19.  Virginia  district,  Ne- 
vada.— 20.  Regulations  of  Reese  River  district. — 21.  Quartz  statute  of  Oregon. — 22. 
Quartz  statute  of  Idaho.— 23.  Quartz  statute  of  Arizona. — 24.  The  mining  laws  of 
Mexico. 


1.— MINING  LAWS. 

Mining  for  gold  and  silver  is  a  business  new  in  Anglo-Saxon  life,  and  not 
provided  for  in  our  laws.  Suddenly  the  American  government  has  found  itself 
in  the  possession  of  the  richest  deposits  of  the  precious  metals  in  the  world, 
with  the  certainty  that  the  mining  industry  based  upon  them  will  be  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  permanent*  interests  of  the  country.  It  is  necessary  now  to 
foster  this  industry,  to  protect  it,  to  frame  a  code  of  laws  that  will  leave  every 
possible  liberty  to  the  miner  who  wishes  to  work  fairly  in  extracting  the  metal 
from  the  earth,  and  will  throw  every  possible  obstruction  in  the  way  of  the 
drones  and  swindlers  who  wish  to  defraud  the  honest  laborer  by  compelling  him 
to  pay  for  the  right  of  working  mines  that  should  be  open  to  him  without 
charge. 

And,  first,  let  us  look  at  the  regulations  adopted  by  the  miners  and  the 
statutes  adopted  by  certain  States  and  Territories  in  regard  to  mining  for  gold 
and  silver. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain,  within  the  brief  time  allowed  for  this  preliminary 
report,  a  complete  collection  of  the  mining  regulations,  and  they  are  so  nume- 
rous that  they  would  fill  a  volume  of  a  thousand  pages.  There  are  not  less 
than  five  nundred  mining  districts  in  California,  two  hundred  in  Nevada,  and 
one  hundred  each  in  Arizona,  Idaho,  and  Oregon,  each  with  its  set  of  written 
regulations.  The  main  objects  of  the  regulations  are  to  fix  the  boundaries  of 
the  district,  the  size  of  the  claims,  the  manner  in  which  claims  shall  be  marked 
and  recorded,  the  amount  of  work  which  must  be  done  to  secure  the  title,  and 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  claim  is  considered  abandoned  and  open  to 
occupation  by  new  claimants.  The  districts  usually  do  not  contain  more  than 
a  hundred  square  miles,  frequently  not  more  than  ten,  and  there  are  in  places  a 


WEST   OP   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  227 

dozen  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles.  In  lode  raining,  the  claims  are  usually  two 
hundred  feet  long  on  the  lode ;  in  placers  the  size  depends  on  the  character  of 
the  diggings  and  the  amount  of  labor  necessary  to  open  them.  In  hill  diggings, 
where  the  pay  dirt  is  reached  by  long  tunnels,  the  claim  is  usually  a  hundred 
feet  wide,  and  reaches  to  the  middle  of  the  hill.  Neglect  to  work  a  placer  claim 
for  ten  days  in  the  season  when  it  can  be  worked  is  ordinarily  considered  as  an 
abandonment.  The  regulations  in  the  different  districts  are  so  various,  however, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reduce  them  to  a  few  classes  comprehending  all  their 
provisions.  The  States  of  Nevada  and  Oregon  and  the  Territories  of  Idaho 
and  Arizona  have  each  adopted  statutes  in  regard  to  the  size  and  tenure  of 
mining  claims,  and  these  statutes,  so  far  as  they  conflict  with  the  district  regu- 
lations, probably  supersede  them,  although  the  act  of  the  last  session  of  Con- 
gress to  legalize  the  occupation  of  the  mineral  lands  provides  for  the  issue  of 
patents  to  only  the^  holders  of  those  lode  claims  which  are  occupied  and  im- 
proved according  to  the  local  custom  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  district  where  the 
same  is  located.* 

Question  might  arise  whether  the  statute  of  the  State  or  Territory  is  to  be 
recognized  as  of  any  force  in  determining  the  right  of  claimants  to  patents.  The 
congressional  act  mentions  only  "  the  local  custom  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  dis- 
trict;" and  those  words  certainly  do  not  describe  a  statute;  and  yet  the  statute 
should  be  preferred,  because  it  is  uniform,  clear,  preserved  in  unquestionable 
records,  accessible  to  all,  and  of  precise  jurisdiction  ;  whereas  the  local  customs 
and  rules  are  various,  and  in  many  districts  indefinite,  unrecorded,  almost  inac- 
cessible, and  conflicting  in  their  jurisdiction. 

The  evils  of  the  system  of  local  customs  and  rules  are  well  stated  in  a  report 
made  to  the  senate  of  Nevada  on  the  23d  February  last  by  the  committee  on 
mines  and  mining.  The  subject  under  consideration  was  the  adoption  of  a 
general  statute  to  supersede  these  local  customs  and  rules.  The  committee 
say: 

"  In  the  establishment  of  a  code  of  mining  laws  in  this  connection  there  are 
certain  self-evident  principles  which  should  be  adopted — 

"  First.  The  interest  in  question  being  coextensive  with  the  area  of  the  State, 
and  intimately  blended  with  every  part  of  it,  the  laws  which  seek  to  regulate  it 
should  be  general  in  their  character,  uniform  in  their  application,  and  universal 
in  their  dissemination. 

"  Second.  It  being  a  vital  and  permanent  interest,  the  laws  which  govern  it 
should  have  the  vitality  and  stability  of  legislative  enactment, 

"  Third.  It  being  an  interest  pertaining  to  our  own  people,  but  valueless  to  them 
without  foreign  aid,  the  aim  of  the  laws  should  be  twofold,  to  give  protection 
to  our  citizens  and  encouragement  to  capital." 

Does  the  present  system  answer  all  or  any  of  these  requirements  ? 

1.  As  to  uniformity  :  there  is  now  nothing  approaching  it.  There  never  was 
confusion  worse  confounded.  More  than  two  hundred  petty  districts  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  State,  each  one  with  its  self-approved  code;  these  codes,  dif- 
fering not  alone  each  from  each  other,  but  presenting  numberless  instances  of 

*  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  person  or  association  of  per- 
sons claim  a  vein  or  lode  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing-  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  or 
copper,  having  previously  occupied  and  improved  the  same  according  to  the  local  custom 
or  rules  of  miners  in  the  district  where  the  same  is  situated,  and  having  expended  in  actual 
labor  and  improvements  thereon  an  amount  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  in  re- 
gard to  whose  possession  there  is  no  controversy  or  opposing  claim,  it  shall  or  may  be  lawful 
for  such  claimant  or  association  of  claimants  to  file  in  the  local  land  office  a  diagram  of  the 
same,  so  extended  laterally  or  otherwise  as  to  conform  to  the  local  laws,  customs,  and  rules 
of  miners,  and  to  enter  such  tract  and  to  receive  a  patent  therefor,  granting  such  mine,  to- 
gether with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  or  lode  with  its  dips,  angles,  and  variations  to  any 
depth,  although  it  may  enter  the  land  adjoining,  which  land  adjoining  shall  be  sold  subject 
to  this  condition. 


228  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

contradiction  in  themselves.  The  law  of  one  point  is  not  the  law  of  another 
five  miles  distant ;  and  a  little  further  on  will  be  a  code  which  is  the  law  of 
neither  of  the  former,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum,  with  the  further  disturbing  fact 
superadded  that  the  written  laws  themselves  may  be  overrun  by  some  peculiar 
"  custom  "  which  can  be  found  nowhere  recorded,  and  the  proof  of  which  will  vary 
with  the  volume  of  interested  affidavits  which  may  be  brough.t  on  either  side  to 
establish  it. 

Again,  in  one  district  the  work  required  to  be  done  to  hold  a  claim  is  nominal ; 
in  another,  exorbitant ;  in  another,  abolished  ;  in  another,  adjourned  from  year  to 
year.  A  stranger,  seeking  to  ascertain  the  law,  is  surprised  to  learn  that  there 
is  no  satisfactory  public  record  to  which  he  can  refer ;  no  public  officer  to  whom 
he  may  apply  who  is  under  any  bond  or  obligation  to  furnish  him  information 
or  guarantee  its  authenticity.  Often  in  the  newer  districts  he  finds  there  is  not  the 
semblance  of  a  code,  but  a  simple  resolution  adopting  the  code  of  some  other  dis- 
trict, which  may  be  a  hundred  miles  distant.  What  guarantee  has  he  for  invest- 
ment of  either  capital  or  labor  under  such  a  system  ] 

Again,  under  the  present  loose  organization  of  districts,  with  their  vagueness 
of  boundary,  it  is  often  impossible  to  determine  by  which  code  of  laws  a  location 
is  governed.  Cases  of  this  kind  have  already  arisen  in  several  districts,  and  are 
liable  to  do  so  again  in  any  part  of  the  State;  and,  tinder  the  present  system, 
there  is  no  means  of  guarding  against  it,  except  by  an  actual  survey  of  the 
boundaries  of  every  district — an  incalculable  expense. 

2.  As  to  permanency  of  regulations,  even  such  as  they  are,  there  is  now  no 
guarantee  even  of  that.     A  miners'  meeting  adopts  a  code;  it  apparently  is  the 
law.     Some  time  after,  on  a  few  days'  notice,  a  corporal's  guard  assembles,  and, 
on  simple  motion,  radically  changes  the  whole  system  by  which  claims  may  be 
held  in  a  district.     Before  a  man  may  traverse  the  State,  the  laws  of  a  district, 
which  by  examination  and  study  he  may  have  mastered,  may  be  swept  away, 
and  no  longer  stand  as  the  laws  which  govern  the  interest  he  may  have  acquired; 
and  the  change  has  been  one  which  by  no  reasonable  diligence  could  he  be  ex- 
pected to  have  knowledge  of.     But  if  the  laws  be  uniform,  "and  registered  upon 
the  statute  book  of  the  State,  he  will  have  security  in  his  tenure,  and  reasonable 
notice  of  any  change  therein. 

3.  As  to  protection  to  the  miner  and  encouragement  to  the  capitalist,  the 
present  system,  or  lack  of  system,  affords  neither.     The  cause  of  uncertainty  of 
titles  to  land  in  our  sister  State  did  not,  through  fifteen  years  of  her  history, 
more  paralyze  her  progress  than  the  uncertainty  of  mining  titles  in  the  outside 
districts  now  retards   our   development.     Five  years  ago  a  horde  of  greedy 
prospectors  from  every  part  of  the  Pacific  coast  swept  over  our  State,  leaving  their 
notices  of  location  on  every  "dip,  spur,  and  angle,"  "thick  as  leaves  inVallam 
brosa;"  and,  after  a  year  or  two  of  feverish  unrest,  swarmed  away  again  to  the 
newer  fields  of  Idaho  and  Montana,  leaving  nothing  to  mark  their  passage  but 
their  faded  "  notices  "  mouldering  on  the   hillside,  their  pitiful  burlesque  of 
development  in  the  way  of  assessment-work,  and  the  threatening  terrors  of  the 
common-law  doctrine  as  to  "vested  rights."     This  is  what  the  true  citizens  of 
Nevada,  those  who,  never  losing  faith  in  her  future,  have  adhered  to  her  for- 
tunes in  sunshine  and  gloom,  now  reap  from  the  ruinous  system  of  ttnlegalized 
district  laws.     They  see  thousands  of  claims  in  which  capital  would  be  eager  to 
engage,  could  satisfactory  title  be  given,  now  lying  neglected  because  there  is 
no  system  of  abandonment  as  yet,  or  sufficient  legislative  or  judicial  sanction  to 
gain  the  confidence  of  business  men.     Such  will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  "  general 
belief,"  or  an  "  evident  tendency  of  decisions ;  "  they  insist  on  definite  enact- 
ment or  positive  adjudication.     In  vain  do  our  people  relocate  abandoned  mines 
in  accordance  with  the  only  laws  which  govern  the  matter.     When  such  titles 
are  presented  to  the  capitalist  his  first  inquiry  is :  "  What  is  the  authority  for  so 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  229 

doing  1  Has  your  legislature  authorized  it  ?  Has  your  judiciary  sanctioned  it  1 
If  not,  where  is  the  security  for  investment  ?" 

As  an  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  the  mining  regulations  are  changed 
and  the  mining  records  neglected,  the  experience  of  North  San  Juan,  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  and  permanent  mining  towns,  may  be  given  here. 

The  Sweetland  mining  district  was  organized  and  a  series  of  regulations 
adopted  for  it  in  1850,  when  claims  were  restricted  to  thirty  feet  square.  In 
1 852  the  size  was  enlarged  to  eighty  by  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  and  the 
regulations  were  changed  several  times  in  other  respects.  In  1853  the  Sweet- 
land  district  was  subdivided  into  three  smaller  districts,  of  which  North  San 
Juan  is  one.  This  latter  adopted  a  set  of  regulations  at  the  time  of  its  organi- 
zation, arid  adopted  the  set  now  in  force  a  year  later.  A  mining  recorder  was 
elected  in  1854,  but  he  has  been  absent  from  the  district  for  five  years,  and  no 
one  has  been  chosen  to  fill  the  place.  The  regulations  are  treated ,  by  many 
persons  as  if  they  were  no  longer  in  force — at  least,  as  regards  certain  points  ; 
and  in  many  cases  it  would  be  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  there  is  any  good 
title  to  claims  under  the  regulations. 

2.— NEED  OF  CONGRESSIONAL  MINING  LAW. 

I  would  suggest  that  the  act  of  last  session  should  be  so  amended  that,  in 
the  granting  of  patents,  State  and  territorial  statutes  in  regard  to  the  size, 
possession,  working,  and  abandonment  of  claims  should  be  regarded  as  of 
higher  authority  than  the  "local  custom  or  rules;"  and  I  venture  to  recommend 
further  that  a  congressional  act  should  be  passed  prescribing  the  manner  of  * 
taking  up,  recording,  working,  and  abandoning  mining  claims  so  long  as  the  * 
title  remains  in  the  United  States,  so  that  uniformity  shall  prevail  throughout 
the  whole  country.  Such  an  act,  based  on  the  laws  and  regulations  of  which 
copies  are  given  on  subsequent  pages,  would,  I  am  confident,  give  general  satis- 
faction to  the  miners,  as  securing  their  equal  rights.  As  it  is  now,  there  is 
great  diversity. 

The  following  list  shows  some  of  the  differences  in  the  size  of  the  claims  : 

Arizona,  under  statute,  600  feet  square. 

Oregon,  under  statute,  300  feet  on  the  lode  by  150  feet  wide. 

Idaho,  under  statute,  200  feet  on  the  lode  by  100  feet  wide. 

Nevada,  under  statute,  200  feet  en  the  lode  by  200  feet  wide. 

Nevada  county,  California,  miners'  regulations,  100  feet. 

Tuolumne  county,  California,  miners'  regulations,  150  feet  on  the  lode  and 
150  feet  on  each  side. 

Sierra  county,  California,  miners'  regulations,  250  feet  on  the  lode  and  250 
feet  on  each  side. 

Copperopolis  district,  California,  miners'  regulations,  150  feet  on  the  lode  and 
250  feet  on  each  side  of  the  lode  by  300  feet  wide. 

In  most  districts  of  Nevada  and  in  many  of  California  a  miner  may  claim  for 
each  person  in  his  company  200  feet  on  the  lode,  but  he  acquires  no  exclusive 
right  of  possession  to  the  adjoining  land,  except  in  so  far  as  he  may  have  to 
occupy  it  in  his  mining  operations.  In  Arizona,  Oregon,  Idaho,  and  some  dis- 
tricts of  California  and  Nevada,  the  mine  may  take  a  considerable  tract  on  the 
sides  of.  the  lode.  If  we  compare  the  size  of  the  claims  simply  in  relation  to 
the  length  on  the  lode,  we  see  that,  taking  the  space  allowed  to  the  miner  in 
Nevada  county,  California,  as  the  unit  of  measurement,  the  miner  in  .the  State 
of  Nevada  gets  twice  as  much,  in  Oregon  thrice  as  much,  and  in  Arizona  six 
times  as  much.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  claims  should  not  be  .of  the 
same  size  in  all  these  places.  The  act  of  Congress  provides  in  section  4  "  That 
no  location  hereafter  made  shall  exceed  two  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the 
vein  for  each  locator,  with  an  additional  claim  for  discovery  to  the  discoverer 


230        RESOURCES  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

of  the  lode,  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  to  any  depth,  with  all  its  dips, 
variations,  and  angles,  together  with  a  reasonable  quantity  of  surface  for  the 
convenient  working  of  the  same  as  fixed  by  local  rules  :  And  provided  further, 
That  no  person  may  make  more  than  one  location  on  the  same  lode,  and  not 
more  than  three  thousand  feet  shall  be  taken  in  any  one  claim  by  anv  associa- 
tion of  persons."  These  provisions  reduce  the  length  of  the  claims  to  be  located 
hereafter  in  Arizona  and  Oregon  to  two  hundred  feet  for  each  person ;  but  they 
do  not  authorize  any  enlargements  of  the  claim  in  the  districts  where  the  limit 
is  less  than  the  two  hundred  feet.  And  yet  justice  and  sound  policy  require 
that  a  miner  should  be  permitted  to  take  up  as  large  a  claim  in  Nevada  county 
or  in  Tuolumne  county,  California,  as  in  Oregon  or  Arizona. 

3.— THE  CUSTOMARY  LIMITATION  OF  SIZE. 

The  limitation  is,  however,  more  apparent  than  real.  If  John  Smith  sup- 
poses a  lode  to  be  rich,  he  selects  a  portion  three  thousand  feet  long,  puts  a 
stake  at  each  end,  with  a  notice,  and  files  with  the  recorder  of  the  district  or 
county,  a  notice  that  he  and  fourteen  associates  have  taken  up  that  claim.  If 
he  imagines  that  there  is  some  rich  ground  outside  of  the  three  thousand  feet, 
he  takes  another  claim  of  three  thousand  feet,  in  the  names  of  fifteen  friends 
not  mentioned  in  the  first  notice.  He  may  have  no  authority  from  those  persons 
to  take  claims  for  them,  but.no  one  objects  in  such  a  case.  If  John  Smith  now 
desires  to  own  more  than  his  two  hundred  feet,  he  goes  to  the  men  whose  names 
he  has  put  down,  and  requests  them  to  give  him  a  bill  of  sale  for  one  hundred 
feet,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  each,  and  as  they  owe  their  claims  to  him, 
they  cannot  refuse.  Then,  instead  of  being  the  owner  of  only  two  hundred 
feet,  he  can  become,  with  little  trouble  or  expense,  the  owner  of  three  or  four 
thousand  feet.  He  can  hold  as  many  feet  by  purchase  as  he  pleases.  There  is 
no  limitation  in  any  county  to  the  amount  of  mining  claim  that  can  be  held  by 
one  person  by  purchase ;  but  in  Mexico  no  company  can  locate  more  than  four 
times  as  much  as  the  claim  of  a  single  individual,  and  there  is  less  opportunity 
for  the  abuse  of  which  mention  has  been  made.  It  would  be  advisable,  in  my 
opinion,  to  amend  the  act  of  last  session  so  that  no  claim  for  any  company  shall 
exceed  sixteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  feet  in  length.  Th3  Mexican  law  fixes 
the  limitation  at  two  hundred  varas,  or  about  twenty-two  hundred  feet.  I 
would  recommend  further  that,  in  the  proposed  change  in  the  length  of  claims, 
each  individual  should  be  entitled  to  hold  by  location  not  more  than  five  hundred 
feet.  The  valuable  claims  are  usually  found  by  solitary  miners,  or  by  small 
parties  of  not  more  than  three.  When  such,  or  a  miner  or  party,  finds  a  place 
in  a  rich  lode,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  he  or  they  should  be  compelled  by 
the  law  to  give  most  of  it  away  to  friends,  as  is  done  under  the  present  law  and 
custom.  Three  locators  get  only  six  hundred  feet  out  of  three  thousand,  or  one- 
fifth.  They  may  request  their  friends  to  convey  to  them  one-half  of  the  remain- 
ing four-fifths,  but  oftentimes  they  fear  that  such  request  would  give  offence,  and 
if  the  claim  turns  out  to  be  valuable,  most  of  the  benefit  goes  to  persons  who 
have  done  nothing  to  discover  the  mine.  It  would  be  better  to  offer  a  larger 
reward  to  the  miner,  and  not  compel  him  to  give  so  much  to  his  friends.  Two 
hundred  feet  is  not  enough  on  ordinary  lodes  for  a  mining  enterprise;  the  pay- 
streak  of  rock  may  run  down  obliquely  lengthwise  in  the  vein,  and  the  miner 
wants  to  know  that  he  can  follow  it  for  a  considerable  distance  in  his  claim.  If 
two  miners  should  find  a  rich  place  in  a  quartz  lode,  and  could  trace  it  for  eight 
hundred  feet  along  the  lode,  and  were  satisfied  that  the  mine  would  prove  profit- 
able from  the  start,  and  were  doubtful  whether  any  part  of  the  lode  beyond  the 
eight  hundred  feet  would  pay,  it  is  evident  that  they  would  rather  own  the  eight 
hundred  feet  by  location  than  be  compelled  to  give  half  of  it  to  other  persons. 
The  knowledge  that  location  could  acquire  more  than  two  hundred  feet  by  loca- 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  231 

tion  would  encourage  prospecting.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  lode  contained 
only  a  moderate  quantity  of  valuable  ore,  and  could  not  be  made  to  pay  until 
after  an  investment  of  more  capital  than  the  two  had  at  their  command,  then 
they  could  make  up  the  original  company  of  ei^ht  persons,  with  one  hundred 
feet  to  each  ;  or  they  could  take  up  the  claim  in  their  two  names,  and  each  could 
sell  or  give  away  portions  of  his  share  to  friends  who  would  furnish  money.  By 
increasing  the  amount  that  each  individual  can  hold  by  location,  the  miner  has 
everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose.  If  the  mine  will  pay  from  the  start,  the 
profit  goes  to  the  man  who  deserves  it ;  if  the  mine  requires  outside  capital  for 
its  development,  the  miner  can  obtain  it  as  readily  as  at  present.  The  Spanish 
iaw  which  was  framed  in  1783,  after  an  experience  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  and  is  now  in  force  throughout  Spanish  America,  allows  each  locator  to 
hold  two  hundred  varas,  or  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  quartz  regulations 
of  California  were  most  of  them  framed  about  1852  and  1853,  with  no  experi- 
ence, and  under  the  influence  of  persons  familiar  only  with  the  small  claims  cus- 
tomary in  the  placers.  It  is  true  that  many  of  the  regulations  have  been  re- 
enacted  at  later  dates,  but  the  old  influences  have  not  been  broken  up.  There 
is  now  a  disposition  to  find  fault  with  the  California  regulations,  and  to  prefer 
the  provisions  of  the  Mexican  law,  as  to  the  size  of  claims. 

4.— PROPOSED  WIDTH  OF  CLAIMS. 

«- 

A  claim  should  cover  not  only  the  lode  but  a  certain  area  on  both  sides.  The 
act  of  Congress  allows  a  reasonable  quantity  of  surface  for  the  convenient  work- 
ing of  the  same,  as  fixed  by  •' local  rules."  Here  again  the  "local  rules"  alone 
are  recognized.  What  is  a  "  reasonable"  quantity  of  surface  ?  In  Arizona  it  is 
three  hundred  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  lode  ;  in  Oregon  it  is  twenty- 
five  feet  on  each  side  of  the  lode  ;  in  Idaho  it  is  a  tract  one  hundred  feet  wide  ; 
in  Tuolumne  county,  California,  it  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  on  each  side  of 
the  lode  ;  in  Sierra  county,  California,  it  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  on 
each  side  ;  in  the  Copperopolis  district  it  is  three  hundred  feet  wide ;  in  the  State 
of  Nevada,  Nevada  county,  California,  and  in  many  other  counties  of  California, 
it  is  all  the  land  that  is  actually  occupied  by  the  works  of  the  company  or  miner, 
and  no  more.  Under  the  customs  in  those  districts  in  which  the  miner  obtained 
no  fixed  quantity  of  surface,  he  never  laid  claim  to  any  portion  outside  of  his 
lode,  except  as  he  occupied  it  for  his  tunnel,  shaft,  mill,  dwelling,  ditch,  dump, 
reservoir  for  tailings,  or  something  of  the  sort ;  if  he  had  all  his  works  at  one  end 
of  his  claim,  he  had  no  title  to  any  of  the  surface  of  the  other  end ;  any  other 
miner  might  then  take  up  another  lode  within  ten  feet  of  his  and  work  it.  The 
law  of  Mexico,  the  statutes  of  Arizona,  Oregon  and  Idaho,  and  the  regulations 
of  Tuolumne  and  Sierra  counties,  authorize  the  miner  to  occupy  a  specific  amount 
of  surface,  and  all  the  minerals  within  that  area  belong  to  him,  whether  he 
has  discovered  all  the  lodes  within  it  or  not.  It  often  happens  that  large  veins 
have  branches  or  spurs,  which  at  the  surface  appear  as  if  they  were  parallel 
veins,  and  when  the  main  vein  is  opened  and  found  to  be  ridh,  outsiders,  if  not 
forbidden  by  the  laws  or  regulations,  make  a  custom  of  claiming  the  spurs  and 
branches,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  prove  to  be  independent  lodes,  or  in  the 
,  expectation  of  making  money  out  of  them  before  the  connection  can  be  proved, 
or  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  owner  of  the  main  lode  to  buy  them  out, 
and  thus  save  the  expense  of  litigation.  Such  claims  upon  spurs,  and  the  liti- 
gation resulting  from  them,  have  been  among  the  most  important  facts  in  the  his- 
tory of  Virginia  City,  and  they  have  been  common  in  many  of  the  quartz  districts 
of  California.  They  are  among  the  greatest  evils  that  beset  lode  mining  in  cer- 
tain counties.  It  was  mainly  to  prevent  this  kind  of  fraud,  for  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  give  any  oiJjer  name  to  it  as  generally  practiced,  that  the  law  of 
Mexico  authorized  the  imner  to  hold  a  tract  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  at 


232  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  lode,  and  thus  he  could  cover  any  ground  which 
he  found  interlopers  might  want  to  claim.  The  purpose  was  not  so  much  to  give 
him  room  for  working,  as  to  secure  his  title  and  protect  him  from  litigation  and 
troublesome  neighbors.  Under  every  set  of  regulations,  customs,  or  local  rules, 
arid  under  every  code  of  mining  law,  the  owner  of  the  main  vein  under  the  first 
location  owns  all  the  spurs  ;  but  he  may  not  be  able  to  prove  for  years  that  it  is 
a  spur.  This  was  the  case  in  several  important  suits  in  Virginia  City,  where  the 
spur  was  not  traced  to  its  union  with  the  main  vein  until  the  miners  had  gone 
down  five  hundred  feet,  and  they  did  not  reach  that  depth  till  after  years  of 
working.  There  may  be,  and  no  doubt  are,  cases  in  which  two  valuable  and 
independent  lodes  are  found  within  two  hundred  feet  of  each  other ;  and  in  such 
instances  it  would  perhaps  be  injurious  to  the  mining  interest  to  let  the  first 
claimant  have  both  lodes,  but  such  cases  would  be  very  rare.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  there  is  no  complaint  among  miners  of  any  evil  caused  by  giving  a  claim  to 
•a  fixed  area  of  surface,  whereas  there  is  great  complaint  about  the  license  of 
taking  claims  on  spurs  within  a  few  feet  of  the  main  lode.  The  latter  evil  is 
common  ;  the  former  is  almost  unknown  ;  the  general  sentiment  among  the  miners 
favors  the  recognition  of  a  surface  claim  at  least  two  hundred  feet  wide  across 
the  lode. 

5.— WORK  REQUIRED  TO  HOLD  CLAIMS. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  that  besets  lode  mining  at  present  is  that  a  vast 
number  of  claims  are  held  without  being  worked,  and  without  any  expectation 
on  the  part  of  the  claimants  of  working  them.  Most  claims  are  taken  up  merely 
as  a  matter  of  speculation,  and  not  for.  the  purpose  of  mining  ;  and  many  of  the 
claimants  are  persons  who  have  never  done  any  regular  work  at  quartz  mining. 
When  a  rich  vein  is  found,  a  multitude  of  persons  rush  to  the  place,  and  each 
one  gets  a  claim,  if  possible,  in  every  vein  in  the  district.  He  puts  down  the 
names  of  enough  associates  ,to  make  up  a  claim  a  thousand  or  two  thousand  feet 
long,  and  thus  all  the  lodes  of  the  district  are  soon  appropriated.  Two  or  three 
of  the  associates  may  be  present  with  him  or  perhaps  not  one,of  them  has  ever 
been  near  the  place.  He  has  taken  his  claims  and  he  now  waits  for  others  to 
develop  the  district  and  prove  that  they  are  valuable.  If  by  the  opening  of  the 
adjacent  mines,  his  claims  are  proved  to  be  rich,  he  sells  out  at  a  handsome 
profit ;  if  not,  he  has  lost  little.  Then  if  a  miner  goes  into  one  of  the  quartz 
mining  districts  and  wishes  to  prospect  a  vein  thoroughly,  he  will  find  that  most 
of  these  lodes  which  he  would  prefer  to  work  are  held  as  claims,  though  no 
substantial  work  has  been  done  in  them.  He  cannot  afford  to  buy,  because  he 
might  have  to  buy  dozens  before  finding  one  that  would  yield  anything  before 
being  examined  ;  and  he  cannot  afford  to  prospect  before  buying,  because  any 
discovery  that  he  might  make  would  enhance  the  price,  and  be  to  the  profit  of 
the  claimant.  The  system  that  recognizes  the  validity  of  unworked  claims  is  a 
great  check  to  mining  industry  and  to  the  development  of  mineral  wealth.  The 
individuals  who  profit  by  it  are  usually  of  a  class  who  thrive  at  the  expense  of 
the  industrious  and  enterprising.  The  miner  desiring  to  get  a  claim  with  the 
intention  of  working  it  has  everything  to  lose  and  nothing  to  gain  by  the  sys- 
tem. It  is  true  that  the  local  regulations  require  the  claim-holder  to  do  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  work  every  year  to  secure  his  title,  but  this  requirement  is  in 
most  districts  a  mere  form,*  and  it  is  evaded  by  shamf  work,  or  the  require- 

*The  San  Francisco  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  a  recognized  authority  among  miners, 
says  in  its  issue  of  the  14th  of  July,  1866 : 

"  With  regard  to  the  performance  of  labor  to  perfect  a  title,  every  miner  knows  that  the 
ru]e,  as  at  present  established,  is  a  mere  farce." 

tGovernor  McCormick  of  Arizona,  in  his  message  delivered  to  the  territorial  legislature  on 
the  8th  of  October,  1866,  says  : 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  233 

ment  is'  a  nullity  because  no  provision  is  made  for  ascertaining  whether  the 
work  has  been  done,  and  the  title  is  held  to  be  good  until,  when  some  adverse 
claim  is  made,  the  first  -claim  is  pronounced  invalid  by  a  court,  after  a  trial 
in  which  the  result  does  not  necessarily  go  with  justice.  The  presumption  is 
always  with  the  first  claimant  in  such  cases.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
community  being  interested  in  similar  sham  claims,  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  jury 
to  give  a  verdict  against  them,  even  if  the  testimony  were  against  them ;  but  the 
law  is  so  framed  that  usually  if  one  witness  swears  that  a  certain  amount  of 
work  has  been  done  to  hold  a  claim,  the  adverse  party  cannot  disprove  it.  Now 
let  us  see  what  amount  of  work  is  necessary  to  hold  a  lode  claim  in  various  dis- 
tricts. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1866,  eighty  miles  of  quartz  claims  were  taken  up 
in  Nevada  county, *and  most  of  these  claims  are  held  to-day  by  a  good  titje 
under  the  mining  regulations,  though  not  five  miles  of  the  eighty  to-day  are 
worked,  and  the  OAvners  of  the  remaining  seventy -five  have  no  intention  of  work- 
ing their  claims  soon. 

The  Nevada  Transcript,  (Nevada  county,  California,)  in  a  number  published 
in  October,  1866,  said  : 

"It  is  safe  to  estimate  the  mining  locations  of  the  past  two  years  in  this 
county,  including  water  privileges,  gravel  and  quartz  claims,  at  about  373  miles. 
The  locations  of  the  present  year  amount  to  over  177  miles.  Of  these  fully 
one-half  are  quartz  claims.  This  estimate  will  suffice  to  show  the  great  import- 
ance to  which  quartz  mining  has  grown  within  a  very  short  period.  Very  few 
of  the  many  ledges  located  have  yet  become  yielding  mines,  and  a  large  number 
are  now  un worked,  the  owners,  having  done  work  enough  to  bold  them,  are 
.waiting  for  more  enterprising  men  to  develop  the  neighboring  claims." 

Under  the  statute  of  Nevada  a  claim  may  be  held  for  one  year  by  the  excava- 
tion of  fifty  cubic  feet  of  rock  for  each  two  hundred  feet,  or  by  the  payment  of 
two  cents  per  foot. 

Under  the  statute  of  Oregon  a  claim  may  be  held  for  a  year  by  work  to  the 
amount  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  three  hundred  feet,  or  for  the  share  of  each 
original  locator. 

In  Idaho,  under  the  territorial  statute,  work  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
dollars  for  the  claim  of  each  original  locator  gives  a  perpetual  title. 

According  to  the  territorial  statute  of  Arizona  the  claimant  or  claimants  must 
sink  a  shaft  thirty  feet  deep,  or  cut  a  tunnel  fifty  feet  long,  within  the  first  ten 
days,  to  establish  a  claim,  which  may  then  be  held  for  two  years  without  further 
work  by  filing  an  annual  affidavit  of  intention  to  work  the  claim ;  and  after 
two  years  the  claim,  no  matter  how  many  feet  it  contains,  may  be  held  by  thirty 
days'  work  annually. 

Under  the  local  regulations  of  the  Virginia  district,  three  days'  labor  would 
secure  the.  title  to  two  hundred  feet  for  one  month,  or  work  to  the  amount  of 
forty  dollars  for  six  months. 

The  local  regulations  for  Reese  River  district  do  not  provide  for  any  forfeiture 

n        i        i          ft  J 

lor  lack  ot  work. 

The  local  regulations  of  Nevada  county,  California,  require  twenty  days'  work 
or  labor  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  secure  a  claim  for  one  year. 

"  It  is  also  important  that,  excepting  in  districts  where  active  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  absolutely  prevents,  the  actual  occupation  and  improvement  of  claims  shall  be  made 
requisite  to  their  possession,  unless  pre-empted  under  the  congressional  law.  The  lack  of 
such  a  requirement  hitherto  has  seriously  retarded  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources 
and  the  general  prosperity  of  the  Territory,  and  proved  discouraging  to  new  comers,  especi- 
ally in  the  counties  on  the  Colorado  river,  where  hundreds  of  lodes,  taken  up  in  years  past  by 
parties  now  absent  from  the  Territory,  are  nnworked  ;  and  yet,  under  the  existing  law,  no  one 
has  a  right  to  lay  claim  to  them,  be  he  ever  so  able  or  anxious  to  open  them." 


234  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

In  the  Copperopolis  district  seven  days'  work  holds  a  company's  claim  for 
a  year. 

Under  the  local  regulations  of  Tuolumne  county,  California,  one  day's  work 
will  hold  a  claim  for  a  month,  or  labor  to  the  value  of  one  hundred  dollars  will 
hold  it  for  six  months. 

6.— PROPOSED  CHANGE  AS  TO  WORK  REQUIRED. 

There  is  no  uniformity  here,  nor  is  the  same  amount  of  labor  required  by  any 
two  codes.  Diversity  implies  injustice  to  individuals  and  injury  to  the  State, 
If  it  were  wise  to  give  a  perpetual  title  in  Idaho,  after  labor  to  the  value  of  one 
hundred  dollars  had  been,  done,  it  cannot  be  wise  to  require  labor  worth  fifty 
dollars  annually  in  Oregon,  or  one  hundred  dollars  in  Nevada  county,  California, 
All  the  statutes  and  regulations  require  some  work,  except  the  State  of  Nevada, 
whicji  enables  the  claimant  by  paying  two  cents  per  lineal  foot  annually,  to  hold 
his  claim  forever.  The  two  cents  are  to  go  into  the  State  treasury,  and  the  coin 
mutation,  if  maintained,  will  have  a  very  prejudicial  effect  on  the  mining  interest 
It  will  enable  men  to  hold  claims  without  working  them,  and  that  is  precisely  the 
result  which  the  laws  should  prevent.  One  of  the  evils  with  which  lode  mining 
has  now  to  contend  is  that  the  miners  who  are  willing  and  anxious  to  work  lodes 
lying  idle  on  public  land  cannot  get  possession  of  them.  The  law  should  be 
strict  against  those  who  hold  claims  without  working  them.  Every  presumption 
should  be  against  titles  that  are  not  founded  on  continued  occupation  and  work. 
The  statutes  should  be  so  framed  that  the  miner  who  desires  to  work,  and  who 
does  work  in  good  faith,  shall  have  every  advantage  over  the  drone  who  takes 
claims  and  tries  to  hold  them  iintil  their  great  value  is  proved  by  others,  so 
that  he  can  sell  them  out,  after  having  incurred  little  expense  or  risk. 

In  Mexico  it  is  expected  that  the  miner  will  keep  at  least  four  men  employed 
continually  at  his  mine,  and  if  Ije  omits  to  have  so  many  as  four  for  a  period  of 
four  months,  except  in  time  of  war,  famine,  or  pestilence,  he  forfeits  his  title. 
The  constant  labor  of  one,  two,  or  three  men,  or  the  employment  of  a  dozen 
during  the  year,  is  not  enough.  The  Mexican  law,  however,  is  too  strict  on 
this  point  for  the  present  wants  of  the  American  mining  districts.  Wages  are 
so  high  that  many  companies,  which  really  intend  to  open  the  mines,  and  are  at 
work  in  good  faith  with  one  or  two  men,  would  abandon  their  claims  rather 
than  undertake  to  pay  four  men  continuously.  Nevertheless,  severe  as  Mexi- 
can law  is  on  individuals,  it  is  admirably  fitted  to  develop  the  mining  interest, 
The  Spanish  maxim  is  that  the  man  who  does  the  most  work  in  the  mine 
has  the  most  right  to  it. 

7.— LAW  NEEDED  FOR  CENTURIES  OF  MINING. 

It  is  evident  to  all  who  have  made  themselves  familiar  with  the.  history  of 
mining  in  other  countries,  and  who  have  examined  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
Pacific  States,  that  our  gold  and  silver  mining  industry  will  last  for  centuries, 
and  will  grow  to  be  far  more  important  and  to  employ  many  more  laborers  than 
at  present.  It  is  evident,  too,  after  the  consideration  of  the  various  statutes  and 
local  regulations  that  some  further  legislation  is  necessary  to  protect  and  foster 
the  development  of  this  great  industry.  If  further  legislation 'be  necessary, 
wisdom  suggests  that  action  should  not  be  postponed  for  a  time.  The  mining 
industry  is  too  important  to  the  interests  of  individuals  and  to  the  wealth  and 
growth  of  the  State  to  be  neglected.  It  is  now,  while  the  business  is  still  in  its 
infancy,  that  the  proper  principles  should  be  laid  down,  so  as  to  secure  the  miner 
in  the  safe  enjoyment  of  the  treasures  which  he  brings  to  light.  The  land  on 
which  the  mining  industry  is  based  belongs  to  the  Union,  and  Congress  has 
the  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  tenure  of  claims  until  the  time  when  they 
"^become  private  property. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  235 

The  act  of  the  last  session  is  an  excellent  foundation  on  which  to  build  up 
gradually  a  code  suited  to  our  wants,  and  the  local  mining  regulations  suggest 
many  important  provisions.  The  interests  involved,  both  public  and  private, 
are  so  great  that  much  caution  is  necessary ;  and  yet  the  necessity  of  some  uni- 
form and  comprehensive  system  is  undeniable.  It  is  better  to  legislate  too  little 
than  too  much,  and  the  first  statutes  should  be  confined  to  a  few  general  and 
fundamental  principles,  to  which  additions  can  be  made  as  experience  is  gained 
and  the  wants  of  the  miners  are  better  understood.  The  main  purpose  of  legis- 
lation, in  mining,  should  be  to  protect  the  working  miner,  and  encourage  him  in 
the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country.  His  interest  in  this 
matter  is  intimately  associated  with  the  prosperity  of  the  nation. 

8.— CONGRESS  ALONE  CAN  ESTABLISH  UNIFORMITY. 

i 

Congress  alone  can  establish  uniform  rules,  applicable  equally  to  all  the 
mining  districts.  Experience  has  shown  that  if  the  matter  be  left  to  the  several 
States  and  Territories  in  which  the  mineral  deposits  are  found,  each  will  have 
its  own  system.  Local,  personal,  arid  immediate  interests  have  far  more  influ- 
ence in  local  legislatures  than  in  Congress ;  which  last,  from  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  constituted,  must  pay  more  regard  to  general,  permanent,  and  public 
interests.  It  is  therefore  in  every  respect  to  be  desired  that  Congress  should 
exercise  its  power  and  fix  by  a  comprehensive  act  the  terms  upon  which  claims 
to  mines  on  the  public  land  may  be  held.  A  wise  and  generous  basis  for  such 
legislation  was  laid  by  the  -act  of  last  session.  The  equity  of  the  miner's  title 
was  acknowledged  ;  the  courts  were  directed  to  protect  him  in  his  possession  ; 
and  the  validity  of  the  local  rules  was  for  the  time  recognized.  The  subject  was 
too  extensive  to  dispose  of  it  all  at  once.  It  is  better  to  do  the  work  slowly 
than  to  do  it  ill.  Step  by  step  we  shall  advance  to  have  a  superior  law,  worthy 
of  the  superior  energy,  intelligence,  and  industry  of  our  miners,  and  the  superior 
richness  and  extent  of  our  mineral  deposits. 

The  following  are  the  miners'  regulations  in  some  of  the  principal  mining 
districts : 

9.— MINERS'  REGULATIONS.— QUARTZ  REGULATIONS  OF  NEVADA  COUNTY, 

CALIFORNIA. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  following  laws  shall  extend  over  all  quartz 
mines  and  quartz  mining  property  within  the  county  of  Nevada. 

ART.  2.  Each  prospector  of  a  quartz  claim  shall  hereafter  be  entitled  to  one 
hundred  feet  on  a  quartz  ledge  or  vein,  and  the  discoverer  shall  be  allowed  one 
hundred  feet  additional.  Each  claim  shall  include  all  the. dips,  angles,  and  va 
riatious  of  the  vein. 

ART.  3.  On  the  discovery  of  a  vein  of  quartz,  three  days  shall  be  allowed  to 
mark  and  stake  off  the  same  in  such  manner,  by  name  of  the  owner  and  number 
of  the  claim,  or  otherwise,  as  shall  properly  and  fully  identify  such  claims. 
Parties  having  claims  may  cause  a  map  or  plan  to  be  made  and  a  copy  filed  with 
the  recorder,  if  deemed  requisite  to  more  particularly  fix  the  locality. 

ART.  4.  Work  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  dollars  in  value,  or  twenty  days' 
faithful  labor,  shall  be  performed  by  each  company  holding  claims,  within  thirty 
days  of  the  date  of  recording  the  same,  as  provided  for  in  article  sixth  of  these 
laws ;  and  the  duly  authorized  representative  of  a  company  making  oath  that 
such  money  has  been  expended,  or  that  such  labor  has  been  performed,  shall  be 
entitled  to  a  certificate  from  a  county  recorder  or  deputy,  guaranteeing  undis- 
puted possession  of  said  claim  for  the  term  of  one  vear ;  and  a  like  sum  of 
money  or  amount  of  labor  expended  or  performed  wifnin  twenty  days  of  each 
succeeding  year,  duly  acknowledged  as  herein  named,  shall  entitle  the  claimant 


236  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

or  company,  from  year  to  year,  to  further  certificates  of  undisputed  proprietorship 
and  possession  ;  and  a  company  having  a  mill  contracted  for  in  good  faith,  to 
the  amount  of  five  thousand  dollars,  for  the  working  of  its  claim  or  claims,  the 
proper  representatives  of  the  company  making  oath  of  the  same,  shall  be  entitled 
to  receive  from  said  county  recorder  a  title-deed  to  said  claim  or  claims,  guaran- 
teeing to  the  claimant  or  company,  their  successors  and  assigns,  undisputed  pos- 
session and  proprietorship  forever  under  these  laws ;  provided  that  nothing 
in  this  article  shall  at  any  time  be  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

ART.  5.  Whenever  the  requisite  amount  of  money  or  labor  has  not  been,  ex- 
pended within- thirty  days  from  the  adoption  of  these  laws,  the  claim  or  claims 
thus  neglected  shall  be  considered  abandoned  and  subject  to  be  relocated  by 
any  other  party  or  parties. 

ART.  6.  Any  person  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  any  person  having  taken 
the  necessary  steps  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  entitled^o 
hold  one  quartz  claim  as  provided  for  in  article  first,  and  as  many  more  as  may 
be  purchased  in  good  faith  for  a  valuable  consideration,  for  which  certificates  of 
proprietorship  shall  be  issued  by  the  county  recorder. 

ART.  7.  The  regularly  elected  county  recorder  of  Nevada  county  shall  serve 
as  recorder  of  this  county  in  quartz  claims,  authenticating  his  acts  by  the  county 
seal.  He  shall  appoint  as  his  deputy  such  person  for  Grass  valley  as  may  be 
elected  by  the  district  of  Grass  valley,  and  he  shall  pass  his  records  to  his 
successor. 

ART.  8.  The  fees  of  the  recorder  and  deputy  shall  be  the  same  as  the  statute 
fees  for  recording  per  folio. 

ART.  9.  No  title  to  a  claim  hereafter  taken  up  or  purchased  shall  be  valid 
unless  recorded  in  the  books  of  the  aforesaid  county  recorder  or  deputy  within 
ten  days  of  its  location  or  purchase. 

Adopted  December  20,  1852,  and  still  in  force. 

10.— QUARTZ  REGULATIONS  OF  SIERRA  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA. 

ARTICLE  1.  A  claim  on  any  quartz  ledge  in  this  county  may  have  a  length 
of  two  hundred  feet  along  the  same,  and.  a  width  of  -two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
at  right  angles  with  the  ledge,  on  each  side  of  the  same,  to  include  all  quartz 
found  within  the  above-mentioned  limits. 

ART.  2.  Any  person  discovering  a  gold-bearing  ledge,  not  previously  located, 
shall  be  entitled  to  two  claims,  being  one  claim  for  discovery. 

ART.  3.  No  person  but  a  discoverer  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  more  than  one 
claim  by  location,  in  a  company. 

ART.  4.  No  one  but  an  American  citizen,  or  a  foreigner  who  has  and  exhibits 
his  foreign  miner's  tax  receipt,  shall  be  allowed  to  hold  a  claim  by  location  on 
any  quartz  ledge  in. this  county. 

ART.  5.  It  shall  be  necessary  for  claimants  to  post  a  notice  on  some  conspicu- 
ous place  on  the  claims  located,  setting  forth  the  number  of  feet  claimed,  and 
from  what  point,  upon  which  the  real  names  of  the  locators  shall  appear  in  full. 
Said  notice  shall  hold  good  for  ten  days,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  a  copy 
of  said  notice  shall  be  placed  upon  the  records  of  this  county.  The  notice  and 
record  as  above  shall  hold  said  claims,  without  further  improvements,  from  and 
after  the  first  day  of  November  until  the  first  day  of  May  following,  if  recorded 
after  said  first  day  of  November.  But  upon  all  claims  located  between  the  first 
day  of  May  and  the  first  day  of  November  following,  labor  to  the  amount  of 
eight  dollars  per  claim  shall  be  expended  toward  the  prospecting  or  developing 
the  same  in  each  thirty  days  after  such  location. 

ART.  6  To  hold  quartz  claims  for  the  first  twelve  months  after  location,  it 
shall  be  required  of  eacft  claimant  to  expend  at  least  one  hundred  dollars  upon 
each  claim  of  two  hundred  feet  in  such  improvements  as  may  be  required  in  the 
development  of  the  same. 


WEST  OF  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  237 

ART.  7.  Quartz  claims,  which  have  been  duly  located  in  accordance  with  the 
foregoing  rules  and  regulations,  persons  are  entitled  to  hold  without  limit  as  to 
number,  by  afterwards  conforming  to  the  requirements  set  forth  in  these  by- 
laws. 

ART.  8.  All  quartz  claims  in  this  county  heretofore  located,  upon  which  no 
permanent  improvements  have  been  made,  will  be  declared  forfeited  within 
thirty  days  after  the  publication  of  these  by-laws,  unless  the  notice  of  location 
is  renewed  and  recorded,  if  not  already  upon  the  records  of  the  county,  and 
labor  expended  upon  the  same  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  regulations  for 
holding  quartz  claims. 

11.— QUARTZ  REGULATIONS  OF  TUOLUMNE  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA. 

The  following  are  the  quartz  regulations  of  Tuolumne  county  : 

ARTICLE  1.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  following  laws  shall  extend  over  and 
govern  all  quartz  mining  property  within  Tuolumne  county : 

ART.  2.  Each  proprietor  or  locator  of  a  quartz  claim  shall  be 'entitled  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  (150)  feet  in  length  of  the  vein,  including  all  its  dips  and 
angles  ;  also  one  hundred  and  fifty  (150)  feet  on  each  side  of  said  vein,  together 
with  the  right  of  way  on  eiiher  side  of  said  vein,  to  run  tunnels  and  drifts  any 
distance  that  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  work  said  vein ;  provided  that  the 
right  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  (150)  feet  herein  granted  on  each  side  of  the  vein 
shall  not  be  deemed  to  conflict  with  or  detract  from  the  right  of  any  subsequent 
locator  who  may  discover  a  vein  outside  of  said  one  hundred  and  fifty  (150) 
feet,  to  follow  Ins  vein  through  said  ground. 

ART.  3.  The  original  dicoverer  of  a  vein  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  three  hun- 
dred (300)  feet  in  length  on  said  vein,  by  virtue  of  discovery. 

ART.  4.  No  man  shall,  by  virtue  of  pre-emption,  be  entitled  to  hold  more 
than  one  cl  dm  on  the  same  vein,  except  as  provided  in  article  third. 

ART.  5.  All  quartz  claims  hereafter  taken  up  or  located  shall  be  plainly 
marked  by  notices  posted,  containing  the  claimants'  names  and  the  number  of 
feet  claimed. 

ART.  6.  The  parties  locating  a  quartz  claim  shall  put  at  least  one  full  day's 
work  on  said  vein  in  every  thirty  days,  in  order  to  hold  the  same.  A  day's  work 
shall  be  eight  hours'  labor ;  provided,  however,  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
dollars  ($100)  expended  on  said  claim  shall  hold  the  same  for  six  months  from 
the  date  of  its  expenditure.  * 

ART.  7.  Any  individual,  company,  or  companies  erecting  machinery  for 
working  quartz  shall,  by  virtue  of  said  machinery,  hold  the  vein  or  veins  be- 
longing to  said  individual,  company,  or  companies. 

ART.  8.  These  laws  shall  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  the  first 
day  of  September,  A.  D.  1858. 

11|.— QUARTZ  REGULATIONS  OF  SACRAMENTO  COUNTY. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  following  laws  shall  extend  over  all  quartz 
mines  and  quartz  mining  property  within  the  county  of  Sacramento. 

ART.  2.  Each  proprietor 'oif  a  quartz  claim  shall  hereafter  be  entitled  to  two 
hundred  feet  of  a  quartz  ledge  or  vein,  and  the  discoverer  shall  be  allowed  two 
hundred  feet  additional.  Each  claim  shall  include  all  the  dips,  angles,  and 
variations  of  the  vein. 

ART.  3.  On  the  discovery  of  a  vein  of  quartz,  three  days  shall  be  allowed  to 
mark  and  stake  off  the  same,  in  such  manner,  by  name  of  the  owner,  ami  num- 
ber of  the  claim,  or  otherwise,  as  shall  properly  and  fully  identify  such  claims. 
Parties  having  claims  may  have  a  map  or  plan  made*  and  a  copy  filed  with 
the  recorder,  if  deemed  requisite  to  more  particularly  fix  the  locality. 


238  RESOURCES   OF   STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

ART.  4.  Work  to  the  extent  of  sixty  dollars  in  value  or  twenty  days'  faithful 
labor  shall  be  performed  by  each  company  holding  claims,  within  thirty  days 
from  the  date  of  recording  the  same,  as  provided  in  article  six  of  these'laws,  and 
the  duly  authorized  representative  of  a  company  making  oath  that  such  money 
has  been  expended,  or  that  such  labor  has  been  performed,  shall  be  entitled  to 
a  certificate  from  recorder  guaranteeing  undisputed  possession  of  such  claims 
for  the  term  of  one  year ;  and  a  like  sum  of  money  or  amount  of  labor  ex- 
pended or  performed  within  twenty  days  of  each  succeeding  year,  duly  acknowl- 
edged as  herein  named,  shall  entitle  the  claimants  or  company,  from  year  to  year, 
to  certificates  of  undisputed  proprietorship  and  possession ;  and  a  company  hav- 
ing a.mill  contracted  for  in  good  faith  to  the  amount  of  five  thousand  dollars  for 
the  working  of  its  claim  or  claims,  the  proper  representative  of  the  company 
making  oath  of  the  same,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  said  county  recorder 
a  title-deed  of  said  claim  or  claims,  guaranteeing  to  the  claimants  or  company, 
their  successors  or  assigns,  undisputed  possession  and  proprietorship  forever 
*  under  these  laws ;  provided  that  nothing  in  this  article  shall  be  at  any  time 
inconsistent  with  the,  laws  of  the  United  States. 

ART.  5.  Whenever  the  requisite  amount  of  money  or  labor,  as  provided  for  in 
article  four,  has  not  been  expended  within  sixty  days  from  the  adoption  of  these 
laws,  the  claim  or  claims  thus  neglected  shall  be  considered  abandoned,  and 
subject  to  be  located  by  any  other  party  or  parties. 

ART.  6.  Any  person,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  any  person  having 
taken  the  necessary  steps  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
entitled  to  hold  one  quartz  claim,  as  provided  for  in  article  second,  and  as  many 
.more  as  may  be  purchased  in  good  faith  for  a  valuable  consideration,  for  which 
a  certificate  of  proprietorship  shall  be  issued  by  the  recorder. 

ART.  7.  The  discoverer  of  a  new  ledge  or  vein  of  quartz  shall  be  entitled  to 
two  hundred  feet  for  his  discovery,  and  one  claim  additional,  even  though  he  is 
already  in  the  possession  of  another  claim  taken  up  by  himself,  and  the  same 
benefit  may  be  claimed  for  each  and  every  discovery,  although  many  discoveries 
may  be  made  by  .one  person. 

(The  above  regulations  were  adopted  by  a  meeting  of  the  quartz  miners  of 
Sacramento  county,  held  at  Ashland,  January  22,  1857,  and  are  still  in  force. 
There  are,  however,  very  few  quartz  claims  of  any  value  in  the  county.) 

12.— PLACER  REGULATIONS  OF  COLUMBIA  DISTRICT,  CALIFORNIA. 

The  following  regulations  for  the  placer  mining  district  of  Columbia,  Tuolumne 
county,  California,  are  considered  to  be  as  good  as  any  in  the  State : 

ARTICLE  1.  The  Columbia  mining  district  shall  hereafter  be  considered  to 
contain  all  the  territory  embraced  within  the  following  bounds :  Beginning  at 
the  site  of  M'Kenny's  old  store,  on  Springfield  flat,  and  running  in  a  direct  line 
to  a  spring  on  a  gulch  known  as  Spring  gulch — said  gulch  running  in  a  south 
ern  direction  from  Santiago  Hill.  Thence,  in  a  direct  line  from  said  "spring,  to 
the  angle  of  the  road  leading  from  Saw-mill  flat  to  Kelly's  ranch,  near  Wood's 
creek.  Thence,  running  along  the  ridge  on  the  west  of  Wood's  creek,  to  the 
southern  bounds  of  Yankee  Hill  district.  Thence,  following  the  ridge,  to  the 
high  flume  between  Columbia  and  Yankee  Hill.  Thence,  following  the  New 
Water  Company's  ditch,  to  Summit  pass.  Thence,  in  a  direct  line  to  the  head  of 
Experimental  gulch — including  said  gulch.  Thence,  following  the  upland,  to  a 
point  opposite  Pine  Log  crossing.  Thence,  following  the  upland,  to  the  head  of 
Fox  gulch,  and  including  said  gulch.  Thence,  following  the  upland  around,  the 
head  of  Dead  Man's  gulch,  to  the  site  of  the  Lawnsdale  saw-mill.  Thence  in 
a  direct  line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

ART.  2.  A  full  claim  for  mining  purposes,  on  the  flats  or  hills  in  this  district, 
shall  consist  of  an  area  equal  to  that  of  one  hundred  feet  square.  A  full  claim 


WEST    OF   THE   EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  239 

on  ravines  shall  consist  of  one  hundred  feet  running  on  the  ravine,  and  of  a 
width  at  the  discretion  of  the  claimant,  provided  it  does  not  exceed  one  hundred 
feet. 

ART.  3.  No  person  or  persons  shall  he  allowed  to  hold  more  than  one  full 
claim,  within  the  bounds  of  this  district,  by  location ;  nor  shall  it  consist  of  more 
than  two  parcels  of  ground,  the  sum  of  the  area  of  which  shall  not  exceed  one 
full  claim ;  provided  nothing  in  this  article  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prevent 
miners  from  associating  in  companies  to  carry  on  mining  operations,  such  com- 
panies holding  no  more  than  one  claim  to  each  member. 

ART.  4.  A  claim  may  be  held  for  five  days  after  water  can  be  procured  at 
the  usual  rates,  by  distinctly  marking  its  bounds  by  ditches,  or  by  the  erection 
of  good  and  sufficient  stakes  at  each  corner,  with  a  notice  at  each  end  of  the 
claim,  followed  by  the  names  of  the  claimants,  and  by  recording  the  same  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  of  article  10. 

ART.  5.  When  a  party  has  already  commenced  operations  upon  a  claim,  and 
is  obliged  to  discontinue  for  want  of  water,  or  by  sickness  or  unavoidable  acci- 
dent, the  presence  upon  the  ground  of  the  torn  and  sluices,  or  such  machines  as 
are  employed  in  working  the  claim,  shall  be  considered  as  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  ground  is  not  abandoned,  and  shall  serve  instead  of  other  notice;  the 
bounds  of  the  claim  still  being  defined,  except  so  far  as  the  marks  may  have 
been  obliterated  by  the  work  which  has  been  done,  or  by  other  causes. 

ART.  6.  Claims  shall  be  forfeited  when  parties  holding  them  have  neglected 
to  fulfil  the  requirements  of  the  preceding  articles,  or  have  neglected  working 
them  for  five  days  after  water  can  be  procured  at  the  usual  rates,  unless  pre- 
vented by  sickness  or  unavoidable  accident,  or  unless  the  miners  have  provided 
by  law  to  the  contrary. 

ART.  7.  Earth  thrown  up  for  the  purpose  of  washing  shall  not  be  held  dis- 
tinct from  the  claim  from  which  it  was  ta.ken,  but  shall  constitute  part  and  par- 
cel of  such  claim. 

ART.  8.  Water  flowing  naturally  through  gold-bearing  ravines,  shall  not  be 
diverted  from  its  natural  course  without  the  consent  of  parties  working  on  such 
ravines ;  and  when  so  diverted,  it  shall  be  held  subject  to  a  requisition  of  the 
party  interested. 

ART.  9.  No  Asiatics  shall  be  allowed  to  mine  in  this  district. 

ART.  10.  Any  or  all  claims,  now  located,  or  that  may  be  located  and  worked, 
can  be  laid  over  at  any  time,  for  any  length  of  time  not  to  exceed  six  months, 
by  the  person  or  persons  holding  the  same  appearing  before  the  recorder  of  the 
district,  with  two  or  more  disinterested  miners,  who  shall  certify  over  their  own 
signatures  that  the  said  claim  or  claims  cannot  be  worked  to  advantage,  and  by 
having  the  same  recorded  according  to  the  laws  of  the  district,  and  by  paying  a 
fee  of  one  dollar;  provided  each  claimant  shall  sign  the  record  in  person  or  by  a 
legal  representative,  stating  at  the  same  time  that  said  claim  is  held  by  location 
or  by  purchase. 

ART.  11.  There  shall  be  a  recorder  elected,  whb  shall  hold  the  office  for  one 
year  from  the  date  of  his  election,  or  until  his  successor  be  elected,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  keep  a  record  of  all  miners'  meetings  held  in  the  district;  to  record 
all  claim's,  when  requested  by  the  claimants,  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that  pur- 
pose, according  to  article  10  ;  and  to  call  miners'  meetings,  by  posting  notices 
throughout  the  district-,  when  fifteen  or  more  miners  of  the  district  shall  present 
him  with  a  petition  stating  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  paying  for  printing 
notices ;  provided  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  recorder,  the  above-named  number 
of  miners  shall  not  be  disqualified  to  call  a  meeting,  at  the  place  specified  in  ar- 
ticle 16.  He  shall  at  all  proper  times  keep  his  record  book  open  for  inspec- 
tion. 

ART.  12.  No  company  or  companies  of  miners,  who  may  occupy  the  natural 
channel  through  any  gulch  or  ravine  for  a  tail-race  or  flume,  shall  have  the  ex- 


240  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

elusive  right  of  such  channel,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  company  of  miners  who 
may  wish  to  run  their  tailings  into  the  same. 

ART.  13.  Any  party  Or  parties  locating  claims  in  gulches  or  ravines  where 
such  flumes  or  tail-races  exist,  shall  first  confer  with  the  party  or  parties  owning 
said  tail-races  or  flumes,  for  the  use  of  the  same  on  such  conditions  as  they  may 
agree  upon ;  and  in  case  of  a  disagreement,  each  party  shall  choose  two  disinter- 
ested miners,  and  the  four  shall  choose  a  fifth,  who  may  determine  the  matter  or 
matters  in  dispute. 

ART.  14.  Any  company  or  companies  of  miners  shall  have  the  right  to  run 
their  water  and  tailings  across  the  claim  or  claims  below  them,  if  it  can  be  done 
without  injury  to  the  lower  claims. 

ART.  15.  The  limits  of  this  district  shall  not  be  changed  without  the  con- 
sent of  a  regularly  called  mass  meeting  of  the  miners  of  the  district. 

ART.  16.  No  miners'  meetings  held  outside  of  Columbia,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  laws  to  govern  any  portion  of  the  district,  or  to  amend  these  laws  in  any 
manner,  shall  be  considered  as  legal. 

ART .  17.  All  mining  laws  of  this  district,  made  previous  to  the  foregoing, 
are  hereby  repealed. 

13.— PLACER  REGULATIONS  OF  NORTH  SAN  JUAN  DISTRICT. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  boundaries  of  the  district  of  San  Juan  shall  be  as  follows : 
On  the  east  the  public  road  leading  to  Hess's  crossing;  on  the  south  the  road 
leading  from  the  village  of  San  Juan  to  Kentz's  tavern,  and  the  ravine  extending 
thence  to  Hatfield's  crossing  on  the  Middle  Yuba ;  and  on  the  west  and  north 
the  Middle  Yuba. 

ART.  2.  The  dimensions  of  a  mining  claim  in  this  district  shall  n,ot*  exceed 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  length  by  eighty  feet  in  breadth. 

ART.  3.  No  person  shall  be  entitled  to  more  than  one  claim  by  location,  but 
the  right  to  hold  by  legal  purchase  shall  be  unlimited. 

ART.  4.  To  indicate  possession  of  any  claim  or  claims  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  owner  or  owners  thereof,  if  not  habitually  at  work  thereon,  to  post  on  some 
conspicuous  part  of  such  claim  or  claims  a  notice  stating  the  boundaries  and  di- 
mensions thereof,  and  his  or  their  intention  thereon ;  and  also  to  designate  the 
prominent  lines  or  corners  thereof  by  suitable  stakes  or  blazes.  But  in  a  claim 
or  set  of  claims  whereon  work  is  being  regularly  performed,  the  presence  of  the 
owners  thereof,  or  their  representatives,  shall  be  deemed  a  sufficient  excuse  for 
the  absence  of  the  notice  hereinbefore  specified. 

•ART.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  owners  of  all  that  class  of  claims  specified 
in  the  first  clause  of  article  1  (i.  e.,  those  wherein  work  is  not  being  regularly 
performed)  to  renew  their  notices  once  in  every  thirty  days,  except  in  the  ab- 
sence of  water  from  the  diggings,  when  it  shall  not  be  necessary. 

ART.  6.  If  a  person  or  persons  in  prospecting  any  claim  or  set  of  claims  shall 
have  expended  thereon  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  money  or  labor,  (labor 
to  be  estimated  at  the  rate  of  wages  current  at  the  time,)  his  or  their  right  to 
such  claim  or  claims  shall  be  secure  for  the  period  of  two  years  from  the  time 
such  expenses  were  incurred ;  but  after  the  expenditure  of  the  said  two  years 
said. rights  shall  be  subject  to  the  restrictions  specified  in  articles  4  and  5  of  these 
laws. 

ART.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  a  recorder  to  be  elected  annually  by  the  mi- 
ners of  the  district ;  to  make  a  record  on  application  of  the  owners  of  the  boun- 
daries and  dimensions  of  each  and  every  claim  or  set  of  claims  in  the  district, 
for  which  he  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  fifty  cents  for  each  record.  On  the 
sale  or  transfer  of  any  claim  in  this  district  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  purchaser 
to  have  such  sale  or  transfer  recorded. 

ART.  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  owners  of  claims  that  have  been  located  or 


OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  241 

purchased  previous  to  the  date  of  this  meeting  to  have  such  claim  recorded  on 
or  before  the  first  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1854,  and  all  claims  located  or  pur- 
chased after  the  date  of  this  meeting  shall  be  recorded  within  oue  week  from  the 
time  of  said  location  or  purchase. 

The  above  regulations  were  adopted  on  the  5th  November,  1854.  North  San 
Juan  is  the  largest  hydraulic  mining  district  in  California. 

14.— PLACER  REGULATIONS  OF  PILOT  HILL. 

The  following  are  the  regulations  of  the  placer  district  of  Pilot  Hill,  Calaveras 
county,  California : 

SECTION  1.  Each  tunnelling  and  shafting  claim  shall  consist  of  one  hundred 
feet  in  width  to  the  man,  and  running  through  the  hill  on  a  parallel  line  with  the 
commencement  of  the  tunnel. 

SEC.  2.  That  each  company  holding  tunnel  or  shafting  claims,  in  order  to 
hold  the  same,  shall  be  required  to  perform  work  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five 
dollars  each  week  for  a  period  not  to  exceed  twelve  months. 

SEC.  3.  That  each  gulch  claim  shall  consist  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  length  by  fifty  in  width  to  each  man.  „ 

SEC  4.  That  each  surface  claim  shall  consist  of  two  hundred  feet  in  length 
by  one  hundred  feet  in  width  to  the  man. 

SEC.  5.  That  each  gulch  aud  surface  claim  shall  be  worked  within  three 
days  after  the  date  of  location,  if  water  can  be  obtained. 

SEC.  6.  That  each  tunnelling,  shafting,  gulch,  and  surface  claim  shall  be 
marked  off  by  stakes,  or  other  marks,  so  that  the  boundaries  of  each  claim  can 
be  distinctly  traced. 

(Pilot  Hill  and  Kanaka  Camp  are  not  important  districts,  but  their  regulations 
are  peculiar  in  some  respects,  and  are  therefore  given  here.) 

15 — REGULATIONS  OF  NEW  KANAKA  CAMP. 

The  following  are  the  regulations  of  New  Kanaka  Camp,  inTuolumne  county : 

ARTICLE  1.  [This  article  describes  the  boundaries  of  the  district  ] 

ART.  2.  Creek  claims  shall  be  two  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  from  bank  to 
bank. 

ART.  3.  Gulch  or  ravine  claims  shall  be  two  hundred  feet  in  length  and  fifty 
in  width. 

ART.  4.  All  claims  on  bars  or  flats  shall  be  two  feet  in  length  and  fifty  feet 
in  width. 

ART.  5.  It  shall  be  required  that  all  claims  be  worked  one  full  day  in  three, 
when  permanent  water  can  be  had,  except  in  cases  of  sickness  or  legal  cause. 

ART.  6.  All  miners  are  entitled  to  one  claim  by  pre-emption  and  one  by 
purchase ;  provided  such  claims  purchased  shall  be,  on  investigation,  found  to 
have  been  obtained  in  a  legal  or  bonajide  manner. 

ART.  7.  Chinamen  shall  not  be  allowed  to  own  claims  in  this  district,  either 
by  purchase  or  pre-emption. 

ART.  8.  All  persons  who  find  it  necessary  to  cut  a  tail-race  to  their  claims 
shall  have  the  privilege  of  cutting  through  any  ground  below  them,  owned  by 
other  parties,  provided  it  will  not  result  to  the  injury  of  such  parties. 

ART.  9.  It  shall  be  required  of  all  persons  owning  claims  in  this  district  to 
designate  the  boundaries  of  said  claims  by  digging  a  trench  around  the  same. 

ART.  10.  All  disputes  arising  in  regard  to  mining  shall  be  left  to  arbitration, 
each  party  to  choose  one  man,  and,  in  case  of  disagreement,  they  to  choose  an 
umpire. 

ART.  11.  Arbitrators  in  all  cases,  for  services,  shall  be  paid  for  all  time  «»- 
sumed  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  per  day. 
H,  Ex.  Doc.  29—16 


242  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

ART.  12.  All  claims  may  be  laid  over,  by  having  the  same  recorded,  from  the 
time  ditch-water  fails  until  it  can  be  obtained  again. 

ART.  13.  A  recorder  shall  be  chosen,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  keep  a  book  of 
records,  with  the  number  of  each  claim  recorded,  from  one  to  an  unlimited 
number.     It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  said  recorder  to  go  on  to  each  and  every 
claim  recorded  and  post  at  either  end  of  each  claim  a  piece  of  tin,  with  the' 
number  stamped  thereon,  corresponding  with  the  number  on  the  book  of  record, 

16.— REGULATIONS  OF  THE  COPPEROPOLIS  (COPPER)  DISTRICT. 

ARTICLE  1.  This  district  shall  be  known  as  the  Copper  Canon  district. 

ART.  2.  The  boundaries  of  this  district  shall  be  as  follows,  viz  :  Bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Angels'  trail,  east  by  Empire  district,  south  by  the  O'Byrne 
Ferry  district,  and  west  by  Black  Oak,  Four  Spring  Run,  and  Four  Spring 
district. 

ART.  3.  A.  miner  shall  be  entitled  to  one  claim  by  location  on  a  lead  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  and  three  hundred  feet  in  width.  Any  miner 
discovering  a  new  lead  or  vein  shall  be  entitled  to  an  extra  claim  of  the  above 
extent. 

ART.  4.  Claims  shall  be  duly  staked  at  each  end,  with  at  least  one  notice 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  claim,  with  all  the  claimants'  names 
therein,  and  such  a  notice  shall  be  posted  up  as  aforesaid  once  a  year  at  least, 
and  during  the  month  of  August,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses. 

ART.  5.  Companies  of  miners  having  adjoining  claims,  and  working  together 
only  one  of  such  claims,  shall  hold  good  the  balance  of  claims. 

ART.  6.  All  claims,  whether  obtained  by  location  or  purchase,  shall  be 
represented  in  person  or  by  proxy  whenever  they  can  be  worked  in  conformity 
with  the  laws  hereby  prescribed. 

ART.  7.  There  shall  be  one  day's  work  done  on  each  claim,  or  company's 
claim,  once  a  month,  commencing  on  the  1st  of  May  and  terminating  on  the  1st 
of  December. 

ART.  8.  No  claim  shall  be  forfeited  by  sickness  or  legal  inability  of  the 
claimant. 

ART.  9.  There  shall  be  a  recorder  elected,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  keep  a  cor- 
rect copy  of  all  claims  in  the  district.  It  shall  be  the  recorder's  duty  to  visit  the 
claims  in  person,  and  give  an  accurate  description,  landmarks,  and  also  names 
of  company  occurring  therein.  His  fee  shall  be  fifty  cents  per  claim. 

ART.  10.  When  any  dispute  shall  arise  respecting  claims  in  the  district,  each 
party  shall  select  a  disinterested  miner  to  act  as  arbitrator  to  settle  the  matter 
in  dispute,  and  if  said  arbitrators  shall  be  unable  to  agree  they  shall  choose 
another  miner  or  referee,  whose  decision  shall  be  final.  All  arbitrators t  and 
referees  shall  be  chosen  from  the  miners  of  this  district. 

Adopted  August  3,  1860. 

17.-STATUTE  OF  NEVADA  CONCERNING  MINING  CLAIMS. 

The  following  are  the  main  sections  of  a  statute  of  the  State  of  Nevada 
approved  February  27,  1866  : 

SECTION  1.  Any  six  or  more  persons  who  are  males  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years  and  upwards,  holding  mining  claims  in  any  mining  district,  or  who  hold 
mineral  lands  not  within  the  boundaries  of  any  established  mining  district,  may 
form  a  new  mining  district  embracing  said  claims,  at  a  meeting  of  such  persons 
to  be  called  by  posting  for  five  days  in  at  least  five  conspicuous  places  within 
the  limits  of  such  proposed  new  district  notices  in  writing  stating  the  place  and 
time  for  holding  such  meeting,  describing  as  near  as  may  be  the  limits  of  such 
proposed  new  district,  and  signed  by  not  less  than  five  of  such  persons.  At 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  243 

said  meeting  all  males  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upward  holding 
mining  claims,  or  anyinterest  therein,  within  said  limits,  may  vote,  and  by  a 
majority  vote  determine  whether  said  new  mining  district  shall  be  established, 
and  its  boundaries,  which  shall  be  within  the  limits  named  in  said  notices  ;  and 
thereafter  the  persons  so  qualified  and  holding  mining  claims  in  such  newly 
•established  district  shall  proceed  to  select  a  name  therefor  and  elect  a  district 
recorder,  who  shall  be  qualified  as  aforesaid.  He  shall  perform  all  the  duties 
required  of  him  by  law,  and  shall,  within  thirty  days  after  qualifying,  file  and 
record  in  his  office  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  said  meeting.  No  district 
formed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  divided  by  any  county  line. 
Mining  districts  now  existing  may  be  continued. 

SEC.  22.  On  and  after  the  second  Saturday  of  July,  1866,  all  locations  ot 
mining  claims  shall  be  made  in  the  following  manner  :  On  a  monument  not  less 
than  three  feet  high,  firmly  established  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  claim, 
there  shall  be  placed  a  plainly-written  notice  embracing  a  description  of  the 
ground  claimed,  the  date  of  location,  the  name  of  the  claim,  the  name  of  the 
company,  and  the  names  of  the  locators,  with  the  number  of  feet  claimed  by 
each,  and  a  copy  of  said  notice,  accompanied  by  a  written  request  for  a  survey 
of  said  claim  by  the  district  recorder,  shall,  within  thirty  days  after  the  making 
of  such  location,  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  district  recorder  of  the  district  in 
which  said  claim  is  located  ;  and  in  case  there  be  no  legally  authorized  district 
recorder  in  and  for  the  district,  or  the  claim  be  outside  of  the  limits  of  an  organ- 
ized mining  district,  then,  and  in  that  case,  said  notice  may  be  filed  in  the  office 
of  the  county  recorder  of  the  county  in  which  said  claim  is  located ;  and  a  written 
request  for  a  survey  by  the  county  surveyor  shall  be  served  upon  the  county 
surveyor  within  a  reasonable  time  thereafter;  the  county  surveyor,  or  his 
deputy,  shall  perform  all  the  duties  required  of  a  district  recorder  by  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act.  Pie  shall  keep  a  record  of  all  his  transactions  in  such  cases, 
-and  for  such  services  he  may  charge  and  receive  the  same  fees  allowed  by  law 
for  his  services  in  like  cases.  Within  thirty  days  after  the  making  of  such  loca- 
tion there  shall  be  done  on  said  claim,  as  assessment  work,  to  hold  the  same  up 
to  and  including  the  day  preceding  the  first  Saturday  of  the  then  following 
August,  excavation  involving  the  removal  of  fifty  cubic  feet  of  earth  or  loose 
material,  or  five  cubic  feet  of  solid  rock,  for  each  two  hundred  feet  in  the  claim ; 
and,  as  soon  as  may  be  thereafter,  said  district  recorder  shall  survey  the  same 
and  record  the  notice  of  survey  as  provided  in  section  14  of  this  act;  and  said 
district  recorder  shall  file  and  record  a  certificate  in  regard  to  the  assessment 
work,  which  shall  be  substantially  in  the  following  form : 

DISTRICT,   COUNTY,   NEVADA,   DAY  OF  MONTH 

OF YEAR. 

This  is  to  certify  that  on  the claim  governed  by  the company, 

surveyed  on date,  there  has  been  done  by  or  on  behalf  of  said  company 

sufficient  work  to  hold  said  claim  up  to  the  first  Saturday  of  August  next. 

,  District  Recorder. 

SEC.  23.  Any  person  may  locate  mining  claims  in  favor  of  others,  but  no  per- 
son shall  be  entitled  to  hold  by  location  more  than  two  hundred  feet  of  any  one 
ledge,  except  by  virtue  of  discovery  of  the  same,  for  which  he  shall  be  entitled 
to  hold  two  hundred  feet  additional.  In  the  case  of  locations  made  as  exten- 
sions, the  location  of  two  hundred  feet  by  virtue  of  discovery  is  allowed.  No 
claim  shall,  in  the  aggregate,  exceed  in  extent  two  thousand  feet  on  any  one 
ledge. 

SEC.  24.  Any  location  made  on  a  ledge  by  authority  of  this  act  shall  be 
deemed  to  include  all  the  dips,  spurs,  angles,  and  variations  of  said  ledge.  The 
locators  of  any  ledge  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  one  hundred  feet  on  each  side  of 


244  EESOURCES   OF   STATES  AND   TERRITORIES. 

the  same,  not  interfering  with  the  mining  rights  previously  acquired  by  others, 
and  all  dips,  spurs,  angles,  variations,  veins,  cross-ledges,  strings,  and  feeders 
within  such  area  of  two  hundred  feet,  by  the  extent  of  the  claim  on  the  sup- 
posed "line  of  the  ledge  as  located,  shall  be  considered  as  claimed  and  held  by 
gaid  locators  as  a  part  of  said  ledge,  and  no  ledge  in  any  claim  subsequently 
located  shall  be  followed  and  worked  within  the  said  area  without  the  permission 
of  the  holders  of  said  area.  All  measurement  of  boundaries  shall  be  horizontal 
air-lines.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  in  any  manner  to  change 
the  amount  of  ground  that  may  be  held  in  any  mining  claim  located  and  held  in 
accordance  with  district  mining  laws,  but  on  and  after  the  first  Saturday  of 
August,  1866,  all  such  claims  shall  in  all  other  respects  be  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act.  Locations  may  be  made  on  blind  ledges  in  the  same  manner 
as  on  cropping  ledges,  and  any  person,  company,  or  corporation  finding  a  blind 
ledge  in  any  excavation  made  by  him  or  them  shall,  for  ten  days  after  finding  the 
same,  have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  locating  the  same. 

SEC.  25.  No  person  shall  become  a  locator  in  more  than  one  claim  on  the  same 
ledge,  and  any  second  location  made  on  the  same  ledge  by  or  in  the  name  of  a 
party  already  located  on  such  ledge  shall  be  void. 

SEC.  26.  The  holders  of  any  claim  shall  have  the  right  to  use  so  much  of  the 
land  in  the  vicinity  thereof  as  may  be  requisite  for  dumps,  for  the  erection  of 
the  necessary  buildings,  machinery,  and  other  works  connected  with  said  claim, 
and  for  the  convenient  development  and  working  of  the  same.  And  in  the  de- 
velopment and  working  of  the  said  claim  they  may  sink  shafts  and  inclines,  and 
run  drifts,  tunnels,  and  cuts  on  any  lands  in  said  vicinity,  but  the  prior  owner 
of  such  lands  shall  be  entitled  to  reasonable  compensation  for  all  damages  sus- 
tained by  reason  of  such  dumps,  the  erection  of  such  works,  or  the  conducting 
of  such  operations.  If  the  prior  owners  of  any  such  lands  have  duly  claimed 
the  same  as  mining  ground,  they  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  ores  taken  out  in  the 
course  of  such  operations,  and  shall  not  be  interfered  with  in  the  conducting  of 
their  own  mining  operations  on  their  own  claims.  The  amount  of  such  compen- 
sation shall  be  determined  by  a  majority  of  three  commissioners,  one  of  whom 
shall  be  appointed  by  such  prior  owners,  one  by  the  party  engaged  in  such  de- 
velopment or  working,  and  one  by  the  two  thus  selected.  The  amount  so  fixed 
shall,  within  fifteen  days  after  the  fixing  of  the  same,  be  paid  to  said  prior  own- 
ers, or  deposited  in  the  county  treasury,  subject  to  the  order  of  said  prior  owners. 
Said  commissioners  shall,  before  entering  upon  their  duties,  take  and  subscribe 
to  an  oath,  before  some  person  duly  qualified  to  administer  the  same,  to  make  a 
true  appraisement  thereof  according  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief. 

SEC.  30.  For  the  purposes  of  this  act  the  term  "  foot/'  when  used  without 
qualification  in  relation  to  mining  ground,  is  hereby  declared  to  mean  twelve 
lineal  inches,  horizontal  air-line  measurement,  on  the  line  of  the  ledge  as  located; 
the  term  "assessment  work"  is  hereby  declared  to  mean  the  work  done  partly, 
in  order  to  hold  a  claim,  and  involving  the  excavation  of  fifty  cubic  feet  of 
earth  or  loose  matter,  or  five  cubic  feet  of  solid  rock,  for  each  two  hundred  feet 
in  the  claim ;  the  term  "  assessment  dues  "  is  hereby  declared  to  mean  two 
cents  for  each  foot  in  a  claim,  to  be  paid  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  same  one 
assessment  year;  and  the  term  "assessment  year"  is  hereby  declared  to  mean 
the  period  extending  from  and  including  the  first  Saturday  of  August  of  one 
year  to  and  including  the  day  immediately  preceding  the  first  Saturday  of 
August  of  the  following  year.  '  The  doing  of  assessment  work  or  the  payment 
of  assessment  dues  shall  be  regarded  as  evidence  of  intention  to  hold  the  claim 
on  which  or  with  reference  to  which  the  same  was  done  or  paid,  for  the  period 
for  which  the  same  was  done  or  paid.  The  payment  of  assessment  dues  shall 
be  in  lieu  of  the  assessment  work  heretofore  usually  required  as  an  evidence  of 
intention  to  hold  a  mining  claim  for  a  specified  period;  and  such  payment  shall 
not  be  required  in  any  case  where  the  holders  of  a  mining  claim  are  in  good 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  245 

faith,  and  to  the  extent  specified  in  section  thirty-two  of  this  acf,  engaged  in 
developing  or  working  the  same. 

SEC.  31.  On  the  first  Saturday  of  August,  1866,  at  which  time  the  first  as- 
sessment year  shall  begin,  this  act  shall  supersede  all  district  mining  laws,  and 
thereafter  said  laws  shall  be  considered  as  repealed:  Provided,  Any  and  all 
rights  heretofore  acquired  under  and  by  virtue  of  such  district  mining  laws  shall 
be"  determined  in  accordance  with  said  mining  laws  existing  at  the  time  when, 
said  rights  were  acquired.  During  the'period  extending  from  and  including  the 
first  day  of  May,  1866,  to  and  including  the  day  immediately  preceding  the  first 
Saturday  of  the  following  August,  no  claim  shall  become  subject  to  relocation 
by  reason  of  the  non-performance  of  assessment  work.  Locations  may  be  made 
under  this  act  at  any  time  on  and  after  the  second  Saturday  of  July,  1866,  at 
which  time  the  district  recorders  elected  under  this  act  shall,  if  qualified,  enter 
upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  and  on  and  after  said  second  Saturday  of 
July  no  location  shall  be  made  under  district  mining  laws. 

SEC.  32.  The  doing  of  assessment  work,  or  the  payment  of  assessment  dues, 
shall  not  be  required  in  order  to  hold  a  claim  during  any  assessment  year,  if 
during  the  year  next  preceding  such  assessment  year  there  has  been  done  on  said 
claim,  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  claimants  thereof,  an  amount  of  work  costing  at 
a  fair  valuation  not  less  than  fifty  cents  for  each  foot  in  said  claim ;  but  in  all 
other  cases  assessment  work  shall  be  done  or  assessment  dues  shall  be  paid  as 
provided  in  this  act.  Assessment  dues  shall  be  paid  for  every  assessment  year  by 
the  parties  holding  the  claim  to  the  district  recorder  elected  under  this  act,  be- 
fore the  first  Saturday  of  August  commencing  the  assessment  year  for  which  they 
are  paid,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  section. 

SEC.  33.  Except  as  otherwise  provided  in  section  32,  every  mining  claim  lo- 
cated and  held  under  district  mining  laws,  on  which  before  the  first  day  of  May, 
1866,  there  has  been  work  done  involving  the  excavation  of  fifty  cubic  feet  of 
earth  or  loose  matter,  or  five  cubic  feet  of  solid  rock,  for  each  two  hundred  feet 
in  such  claim,  shall  bo  subject  to  assessment  dues.  On  every  mining  claim  lo- 
cated and  held  under  district  mining  laws,  on  which  such  work  has  not  been 
done  before  the  first  day  of  May,  1866,  assessment  work  shall  be  done  on  or 
before  the  day  immediately  preceding  the  first  Saturday  of  August,  1S66.  The 
doing  of  such  assessment  work  or  the  paying  of  such  assessment  dues  shall  en- 
able the  owner  of  said  claim  to  hold  the  same  for  the  next  ensuing  assessment 
year,  commencing  on  the  first  Saturday  of  August,  1866. 

SEC.  34.  The  assessment  work  done  within  the  thirty  days  after  the  location 
of  a  claim  under  this  act,  as  provided  in  section  22,  shall  hold  the  same  only  up 
to  the  beginning  of  the  assessment  year  following  the  date  of  said  location,  and 
for  such  next  ensuing  assessment  year  and  for  every  year  thereafter,  except  as 
provided  in  section  32  of  this  act,  such  claim  shall  be  subject  to  assessment  dues. 

SEC.  45.  The  extraction  of  gold  or  other  metals  from  alluvial  or  diluvial  de- 
posits, generally  called  placer  mining,  shall  be  subject  to  such  regulations  as  the 
miners  in  the  several  mining  districts  shall  adopt. 

18.— REGULATIONS  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  DISTRICT,  NEVADA. 

The  following  are  the  regulations  of  the  district  of  Virginia  City,  Nevada, 
adopted  September  14,  1859 : 

ARTICLE  1.  All  quartz  claims  hereafter  located  shall  be  two  hundred  feet  en 
the  lead,  including  all  its  dips  and  angles. 

ART.  2  All  discoverers  of  new  quartz  veins  shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional 
claim  for  discovery. 

ART.  3.  All  claims  shall  be  designated  by  stakes  and  notices  at  each  corner. 

ART.  4.  All  quartz  claims  shall  be  worked  to  the  amount  of  ten  dollars  or 
three  days' work  per  mouth  to  each. claim,  and  the  owner  can  work  to  the 


246  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

amount  of  forty  dollars  as  soon  after  the  location  of  the  claim  as  he  may  elect ; 
which  amount  being  worked  shall  exempt  him  from  working  on  said  claim  for 
eix  months  thereafter. 

ART  5    All  quartz  claims  shall  be  known  by  a  name  and  in  sections. 

ART.  6  All  claims  shall  b&  properly  recorded  within  ten  days  from  the  time 
of  location. 

ART  7.  All  claims  recorded  in  the  Gold  Hill  record  and  lying  in  the  Vir- 
ginia district  shall  be  recorded  free  of  charge  in  the  record  of  Virginia  district, 
upon  the  presentation  of  a  certificate  from  the  recorder  of  the  Gold  Hill  district 
certifying  that  said  claims  have  been  duly  recorded  in  said  district ;  and  said 
claims  shall  be  recorded  within  thirty  days  after  the  passage  of  this  article. 

ART  9  Surface  and  hill  claims  shall  be  one  hundred  feet  square,  and  be 
designated  by  stakes  and  notices  at  each  corner. 

ART.  10.  All  ravine  and  gulch  claims  shall  be  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  and 
in  width  extend  from  bank  to  bank,  and  be  designated  by  a  stake  and  notice  at 
each  end. 

ART.  11.  All  claims  shall  be  worked  within  ten  days  after  water  can  be  had 
sufficient  to  work  said  claims. 

ART  12  All  ravine,  gulch  and  surface  claims  shall  be  recorded  within  ten 
days  after  location- 

ART  13.  All  claims  not  worked  according  to  the  laws  of  this  district  shall  be 
forfeited  and  subject  to  relocation. 

ART  14  There  shall  be  a  recorder  elected,  to  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of 
twelve  months,  who  shall  be  entitled  to  the  sum  of  fifty  cents  for  each  claim  lo- 
cated and  recorded. 

ART.  15.  The  recorder  shall  keep  a  book  with  all  the  laws  of  this  district 
written  therein,  which  shall  at  all  times  be  subject  to  the  inspection  of  the  miners 
of  said  district ;  and  he  is  furthermore  required  to  post  in  two  conspicuous  places 
a  copy  of  the  laws  of  said  district. 

'    19.— REGULATIONS  OF  REESE  RIVER  DISTRICT,  NEVADA. 

The  following  are  the  regulations  of  the  Reese  River  district,  Nevada  : 

SECTION.  1.  The  district  shall  be  known  as  the  Reese  River  mining  district, 
and  shall  be  bounded  as  follows,  to  wit :  On  the  north  by  a  distance  of  ten  miles 
from  the  overland  telegraph  line,  on  the  east  by  Dry  creek,  on  the  south  by  a 
distance  of  ten  miles  from  the  overland  telegraph  line,  and  on  the  west  by  Ed- 
ward's creek,  where  not  conflicting  with  any  new  districts  formed  to  date. 

SEC.  2.  There  shall  be  a  mining  recorder  elected  on  the  first  day  of  June 
next  for  this  district,  who  shall  hold  office  for  one  year  from  the  17th  of  July 
next,  unless  sooner  removed  by  a  new  election,  which  can  only  be  done  by  a 
written  call,  signed  by  at  least  fifty  claim-holders,  giving  notice  of  a  new  elec- 
tion to  be  held,  alter  said  notice  shall  have  been  posted  and  published  for  at  least 
twenty  days  in  some  newspaper  published  in  or  nearest  this  district ;  and  the 
recorder  shall  be  a  resident  of  this  district. 

SEC.  3  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  recorder  to  keep  in  a  suitable  book  or 
books  a  full  and  truthful  record  of  the  proceedings  of  all  public  meetings ;  to 
place  on  record  all  claims  brought  to  him  for  that  purpose,  when  such  claim 
shall  not  interfere  with  or  affect  the  rights  and  interests  of  prior  locators,  record- 
ing the  same  in  the  order  of  their  date,  for  which  service  he  shall  receive  one 
dollar  ($1)  for  each  claim  recorded.  It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  recorder  to 
keep  his  books  open  at  all  times  to  the  inspection  of  the  public ;  he  shall  also 
have  the  power  to  appoint  a  deputy  to  act  in  his  stead,  for  wliDse  official  acts 
he  shall  be  held  responsible.  It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  recorder  to  deliver 
to  his  successor  in  office  all  books,  records,  papers,  &c.,  belonging  to  or  pertain- 
ing to  his  office. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  247 

SEC.  4.  All  examinations  of  the  record  must  be  made  in  the  full  presence  of 
the  recorder  or  his  deputy 

SEC.  5.  Notice  of  a  claim  of  location  of  mining  ground  by  any  individual,  or 
by  a  company,  on  file  in  the  recorder's  office,  fchall  be  deemed  equivalent  to  a 
record  of  the  same. 

SEC.  6.  Each  claimant  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  by  location  two  hundred  feet 
on  any  lead  in  the  district,  with  all  the  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  offshoots,  out- 
crops,  depths,  widths,  variations,  and  all  the  mineral  and  other  valuables 
therein  contained,  the  discoverer  of  and  locater  of  a  new  lead  being  entitled 
to  one.  claim  extra  for  discovery. 

SEC.  7.  The  locater  of  any  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  in  the  district  shall  be  entitled 
to  hold  on  each  side  of  the  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  located  by  him  or  them  one 
hundred  feet ;  but  this  shall  not  be  construed  to  mean  any  distinct  or  parallel 
ledge  within  the  two  hundred  feet  other  than  the  one  originally  located. 

SEC.  8.  All  locations  shall  be  made  by  a  written  notice  posted  upon  the 
ground,  and  boundaries  described,  and  all  claimants'  names  posted  on  the  notice. 

SEC.  9.  Work  done  on  any  tunnel,  cut,  shaft,  or  drift,  in  good  faith,  shall 
be  considered  as  being  done  upon  the  claim  owned  by  such  person  or  company. 

SEC.  10.  Every  claim  (whether  by  individual  or  company)  located  shall  be 
recorded  within  ten  days  after  the  date  of  location. 

SEC.  11.  All  miners  locating  a  mining  claim  in  this  district  shall  place  and 
maintain  thereon  a  good  and  substantial  monument  or  stake,  with  a  notice  thereon 
of  the  name  of  the  claim,  the  names  of  the  locators,  date  of  location,  record,  and 
extent  of  claim.  It  is  hereby  -requested  that  owners  in  claims  already  located 
do  comply  with  the  requirements  of  this  section. 

SEC.  12.  The  recorder  shall  go  upon  the  ground  with  any  and  all  parties 
desiring  to  locate  claims,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  for  such  service  one 
dollar  for  each  and  every  name  in  a  location  of  two  hundred  feet  each. 

SEC.  13.  It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  mining  recorder,  upon  the  written 
application  of  twenty-five  miners,  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  miners  of  the  district 
by  giving  a  notice  of  twenty  days  through  some  newspaper  published  in  the 
Reese  River  district,  which  notice  shall  state  the  object  of  the  meeting  and  the 
place  and  time  of  holding  the  same. 

SEC.  14.  The  laws  of  this  district  passed  July  17,  1862,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed. 

SEC.  15.  These  laws  shall  take  effect  on  and  after  the  fourth  day  of  June, 
1864. 

20.— QUARTZ  STATUTE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  OREGON. 

SECTION  1.  That  any  person,  or  company  of  persons,  establishing  a  claim 
on  any  quartz  lead  containing  gold,  silver,  copper,  tin,  or  lead,  or  a  claim  on  a 
vein  of  cinnabar,  for  the  purpose  of  mining  the  same,  shall  be  allowed  to  have, 
hold,  and  possess  the  land  or  vein,  with  all  its  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  for  the 
distance  of  three  hundred  feet  in  length  and  seventy-five  feet  in  width  on  each 
side  of  such  lead  or  vein. 

SEC.  2.  To  establish  a  valid  claim  the  discoverer  or  person  wishing  to 
establish  a  claim  shall  post  a  notice  on  the  lead  or  vein,  with  name  or  names 
attached,  which  shall  protect  the  claim  or  claims  for  thirty  days;  and  before 
the  expiration  of  said  thirty  days  he  or  they  shall  cause  the  claim  or  claims  to 
be  recorded  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  describing,  as  near  as  may  be,  the 
claim  or  claims,  and  their  location;  but  continuous  working  of  said  claim  or 
claims  shall  obviate  the  necessity  of .  such  record.  If  any  claim  shall  not  be 
worked  for  twelve  consecutive  months  it  shall  be  forfeited  and  considered  liable 
to  location  by  any  person  or  persons,  unless  the  owner  or  owners  be  absent  on 
account  of  sickness,  or  in  the  service  of  their  country  in  time  of  war. 

SEC.  3.  Any  person  may  hold  one  claim  by  location,  as  hereinafter  pro- 


248  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

vided,  upon  each  lead  or  vein,  and  as  many  by  purchase  as  the  local  laws  of 
the  miners  in  the  district  where  such  claims  are  located  may  allow ;  and  the 
discoverer  of  any  new  lead  or  vein,  not  previously  located  upon,  shall  be 
allowed  one  additional  claim  for  the  discovery  thereof.  Nothing  in  this  section 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  allow  any  person  not  the  discoverer  to  locate  more 
than  one  claim  upon  any  one  lead  or  vein. 

SEC.  4.  Every  person,  or  company  of  persons,  after  establishing  such  claim 
or  claims,  shall,  within  one  year  after  recording  or  taking  such  claim  or  claims, 
work  or  cause  to  be  worked  to  the  amount  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  and  every 
claim,  and  for  each  successive  year  shall  do  the  same  amount  of  work,  under 
penalty  of  forfeiture  of  said  claim  or  claims :  Provided,  That  any  incorporate 
company  owning  claims  on  any  lead  or  vein  may  be  allowed  to  work'  upon  any 
one  claim  the  whole  amount  required  as  above  for  all  the  claims  they  may  own 
on  such  lead  or  vein. 

SEC.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  clerk  of  any  county,  upon  the 
receipt  of  a  notice  of  a  miners'  meeting  organizing  a  miners'  district  in-  said 
county,  with  a  description  of  the  boundaries  thereof,  to  record  the  same  in  a 
book  to  be  kept  in  his  office  as  other  county  records,  to  be  called  a  "  book  of 
record  of  mining  claims ;"  and,  upon  the  petition  of  parties  interested,  he  may 
appoint  a  deputy  for  such  district,  who  shall  reside  in  said  district  or  its 
vicinity,  and  shall  record  all  mining  claims  and  water  rights  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  presented  for  record  ;  and  shall  transmit  a  copy  of  such  record 
at  the  end  of  each  month  to  the  county  clerk,  who  shall  record  the  same  in  the 
above-mentioned  book  of  record,  for  which  he  shall  receive  one  dollar  for  each 
and  every  claim.  It  shall  further  be  the  duty  of  said  county  clerk  to  furnish  a 
copy  of  this  law  to  his  said  deputy,  who  shall  keep  the  same  in  his  office,  open 
at  all  reasonable  times  for  the  inspection  of  all  persons  interested  therein. 

SEC.  6.  Miners  shall  be  empowered  to  make  local  laws  in  relation  to  the  pos- 
session of  water  rights,  the  possession  and  working  of  placer  claims,  and  the 
survey  and  sale  of  town  lots  in  mining  camps,  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

SEC.  7.  That  ditches  used  for  mining  purposes,  and  mining  flumes  permanently 
affixed  to  the  soil,  be  and  they  are  hereby  declared  real  estate  for  all  intents 
and  purposes  whatever. 

SEC.  8.  That  all  laws  relative  to  the  sale  and  transfer  of  real  estate,  and  the 
application  of  the  liens  of  mechanics  and  laborers  therein,  be  and  they  are  hereby 
made  applicable  to  said  ditches  and  flumes  :  Provided,  That  all  interests  in 
mining  claims  known  as  placer  or  surface  diggings  may  be  granted,  sold,  and 
conveyed  by  bill  of  sale  and  delivery  of  possession,  as  in  cases  of  the  sale  of  per- 
sonal property  :  Provided  further,  That  the  bills  of  sale  or  conveyances  exe- 
cuted on  the  sale  of  any  placer  or  surface  mining  claim  shall  be  recorded  within 
thirty  days  after  the  date  of  such  sale,  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk  of  the 
county  in  which  such  sale  is  made,  in  a  book  to  be  kept  by  the  county  clerk  for 
that  purpose,  to  be  called  the  record  of  conveyances  of  mining  claims. 

SEC.  9.  Mortgages  of  interests  in  placer  or  surface  mining  claims  shall  be 
executed,  acknowledged,  recorded,  and  foreclosed  as  mortgages  of  chattels. 

SEC.  10.  The  county  clerk  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  one  dollar  each  for 
every  conveyance  or  mortgage  recorded  under  the  provisions  of  this  act, 

21.-QUARTZ  STATUTE  OF  IDAHO. 

The  following  is  the  statute  of  Idaho  in  regard  to  quartz  claims  : 

SECTION  1.  That  any  person  or  persons  who  may  hereafter  discover  any 

quartz  lead  or  lode  shall  be  entitled  to  one  claim  thereon  by  right  of  discovery, 

and  one  claim  each  by  location. 

SEC.  2.  That  a  quartz  claim  shall  consist  of  two  hundred  feet  in  length  along 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  249 

the  lead  or  lode  by  one  hundred  feet  in  breadth,  covering  and  including  all  dips, 
gpurs,  and  angles  within  the  bounds  of  said  claim,  as  also  the  right  of  drainage, 
tunnelling,  and  such  other  privileges  as  may  be  necessary  to  the  working  of 
said  claim. 

SEC  3.  The  locator  of  any  quartz  claim  on  any  lead  or  lode  shall,  at  the  time 
of  locating  such  claim,  place  a  substantial  stake,  not  less  than  three  inches  in 
diameter,  at  each  end  of  said  claim,  on  which  shall  be  a  written  notice  specifying 
the  name  of  the  locator,  the  number  .of  feet  claimed,  together  with  the  year, 
month,  and  day  when  the  same  was  taken. 

SEC.  4.  All  claims  shall  be  recorded  in  the  county  recorder's  office,  within 
ten  days  from  the  time  of  posting  notice  thereon  :  Provided,  That  when  the 
claim  located  is  more  than  thirty  miles  distant  from  the  county  seat  the  time 
shall  extend  to  fifteen  days. 

SEC.  5.  Quartz  claims  recorded  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  4 
of  this  act  shall  entitle  the  person  so  recording  to  hold  the  same  to  the  use  of 
himself,  his  heirs  and  assigns  :  Provided,  That  within  six  months  from  and  after 
the  date  of  recording  he  shall  perform,  or  cause  to  be  performed,  thereon  work 
amounting  in  value  to  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars. 

SEC.  6.  Any  person  or  persons  holding  quartz  claims  in  pursuance  of  this  act 
shall  renew  the  notice  required  in  section  3  at  least  once  in  twelve  months,  un- 
less such  claimant  is  occupying  and  working  the  same. 

SEC.  7.  The  conveyances  of  quartz  claims  heretofore  made  by  bills  of  sale  or 
other  instruments  of  writing,  with  or  without  seals,  shall  be  construed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  local  mining  rules,  regulations,  and  customs  of  miners  in  the  sev- 
eral mining  districts,  and  said  bills  of  sale  or  instruments  of  writing  concerning 
quartz  claims  without  seals  shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  of  sale,  as  if  such  con- 
veyance had  been  made  by  deed  under  seal. 

SEC.  8.  Conveyances  of  quartz  claims  shall  hereafter  require  the  same  formal- 
ities and  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  rules  of  construction  as  the  transfer  and 
conveyance  of  real  estate. 

SEC.  9.  The  location  and  pre-emption  of  quartz  claims  heretofore  made  shall 
be  established  and  proved  when  there  is  a  contest  before  the  courts,  by  the  local 
mles,  customs,  and  regulations  of  the  miners  in  each  mining  district  where  such 
claim  is  located,  when  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States  or  the 
laws  of  this  Territory. 

SEC.  10.  This  act  to  take  effect  and  to  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  approval 
by  the  governor. 

Approved  February  4,  1864. 

23.— STATUTE  OF  AEIZONA. 

The  following  is  the  statute  of  Arizona  on  the  registry  and  government  of 
mines  and  mineral  deposits,  with  the  exception  of  the  sections  providing  the 
manner  in  which  the  rights  of  miners  shall  be  enforced  by  the  courts : 

SECTION  1.  All  mining  rights  on  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  rights  acquired  by  discovery  on  the  lands  of  private  individuals,  are 
possessory  in  their  character  only,  and  such  possessory  rights  shall  be  limited, 
regulated,  and  governed  as  hereinafter  provided. 

SEC.  15.  Every  mining  claim  or  pertenencia  is  declared  to  consist  of  a  super- 
ficial area  of  two  hundred  yards  square,  to  be  measured  so  as  to  include  the 
principal  mineral  vein  or  mineral  deposits,  always  having  reference  to  and  fol- 
lowing the  dip  of  the  vein  so  far  as  it  can  or  may  be  worked,  with  all  the  earth 
and  minerals  therein.  But  any  mining  district  organized  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter  may  prescribe  the  dimensions  of  said  mining  claim  or 
pertenencia  for  such  district :  Provided,  That  in  no  case  the  dimensions  so  pre- 
scribed shall  exceed  the  number  of  yards  allowed  by  this  section  j  and  further 


250  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

provided,  That  no  such  mining  district  shall  diminish  the  extent  of  the  territo- 
rial claim  to  one  pertenencia,  as  defined  in  this  section. 

SEC.  16.  Any  person  discovering  or  opening  a  vein  or  other  mineral  deposit 
in  this  Territory,  not  actually  worked  or  legally  owned  by  other  parties  or 
registered  in  accordance  with  this  chapter,  shall  by  properly  denouncing  and 
registering  the  same  be  entitled  to  claim  and  hold  a  possessory  right  to  a  tract 
of  land  to  the  extent  of  two  mining  claims  or  perteneucias,  including  the  said 
vein  or  mineral  deposit,  and  conforming  .as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  general 
direction  thereof,  each  to  be  measured  two  hundred  yards  long  by  two  hundred 
yards  wide,  the  direction  of  the  lines  to  be  determined  by  the  person  claiming. 

SEC.  17.  If  two  or  more  persons  are  associated,  and  have  formed  a  company 
for  the  exploration  and  working  of  mines,  and  one  or  several  shall  make  dis- 
coveries of  mineral  deposits  in  consequence  thereof,  said  company  so  engaged 
in  exploration  shall  be  entitled  to  denounce  and  register  one  discovery  claim  only 
upon  each  lode.  t  - 

SEC.  18.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  claimants  of  a  mine  or  mineral  lands  to 
locate  and  take  possession  of  public  lands  for  a  mill  site  and  other  necessary 
works  connected  therewith,  which  shall  not  exceed  one  quarter  section,  contain- 
ing a  stream  or  other  water  suitable  for  the  purpose.  They  shall  have  a  right 
to  place  a  dam  or  other  obstructions  on  such  stream,  and  to  divert  its  water  for 
the  above  uses  and  purposes.  They  shall,  within  the  time  and  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  this  chapter  for  the  registration  and  denouncement  of  mines,  pro- 
ceed to  denounce  and  register  the  same  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court,  and 
they  shall  be  known  as  auxiliary  lands.  And  if  within  three  years  from  the 
day  their  notice  of  claim  is  so  recorded  they  shall  expend  in  fitting  the  same 
for  a  mill,  or  in  placing  a  mill  or  reduction  works  thereon,  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  they  may  cause  the  record  of  such  work  to  be  made  and  proceed- 
ings for  confirming  their  title  to  be  instituted  as  provided  in  section  29  of  this 
chapter,  with  like  effect,  and  receive  a  certificate  of  title  as  therein  provided, 
conforming  as  nearly  as  they  can  to  the  requirements  of  that  section.  Instead 
of  the  work  required  by  section  32  of  this  chapter  they  shall  use  the  machinery 
or  other  works  erected  upon  said  land  for  mining  purposes  at  least  thirty  days 
in  each  year.  Such  claims  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  provisions  of  this  chapter 
which  are  applicable  to  mining  rights,  and  may  be  abandoned  and  relocated. 
All  rights  to  auxiliary  lands  acquired  under  the  laws  of  any  mining  district 
before  this  act  takes  effect  shall  be  valid,  and  the  owners  of  the  same,  upon 
complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  section,  may  take  the  like  proceedings  to 
confirm  their  titles,  with  a  like  effect. 

SEC.  19.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  claimants  of  mining  claims,  mineral  lands, 
and  auxiliary  tracts,  to  at  once  define  the  extent  and  boundary  of  them  as 
nearly  as  possible,  by  good  substantial  monuments  or  other  conspicuous  marks, 
in  the  presence  of  the  recorder  of  the  mining  district,  or  of  some  witness  who 
shall  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  recorder  that  the  same  has  been  done,  and 
to  post  up  a  public  notice  of  their  claim  at  the  opening  of  the  principal  vein, 
and  to  have  them  properly  registered  and  recorded  within  three  mouths  from  the 
time  of  first  claiming  them  at  the  office  of  the  mining  district  recorder  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter.  Such  record  shall  give  a  faithful  descrip- 
tion of  the  veins,  mineral  deposits,  and  tracts  of  lands,  the  character  and  bearing 
of  the  veins  or  deposits,  and  their  connection  with  natural  monuments  or  con- 
spicuous objects  in  the  vicinity. 

SEC.  20.  No  person  shall  change  his  original  monuments  or  boundaries  of 
mineral  or  other  lands,  but  if  a  subsequent  investigation  makes  this  convenient 
or  necessary,  and  it  can  be  done  without  prejudice  to  other  parties,  then  such 
change  shall  take  place  by  the  sanction  of  the  judge  of  the  probate  court,  pro- 
vided they  are  properly  recorded,  and  the  new  boundaries  and  monuments  fixed 
at  once  when  the  original  ones  are  removed. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  251 

SEC.  21.  All  minerals,  woods,  waters,  earths,  and  vegetation  found  within  the 
boundaries  of  any  tract  of  land  registered  and  claimed  for  mining  shall  be  ex- 
clusively used  by  him  or  them  who  are  legally  entitled  to  the  possession  of  the 
land  wherein  ©r  whereon  they  are  situated,  so  long  as  they  are  used  for  mining 
purposes  only  :  Provided,  That  no  one  shall  have  the  right  to  prevent  transient 
persons  from  using  the  waters  along  the  public  highwaya,  where  they  were. 
provided  by  nature  in  natural  tanks,  springs,  streams,  or  otherwise,  nor  from 
making  such  equitable  disposition  of  the  waters  as  the  legislature  shall  pre- 
ecribe. 

SEC.  22.  No  person  shall  have  the  right  to  impede  or  inconvenience  travel- 
ling by  fencing  up  the  public  roads,  filling  them  up  with  rubbish,  or  undermining 
them  so  as  to  endanger  their  safety,  neither  shall  any  one  change  their  estab- 
lished direction  without  sanction  of  the  proper  authorities. 

SEC.  23.  Whenever  two  or  more  persons  or  parties  explore  and  prospect  one 
and  the  same  vein,  and  at  or  about  the  same  time  but  at  different  places,  and 
without  knowledge  of  each  other,  then  he  or  they  who  shall  prove  first  occu- 
pancy shall  have  the  right  of  first  location,  taking  the  principal  point  of  exca- 
vation as  the  centre  of  their  claim  or  claims  on  each  side  along  the  general 
direction  of  such  vein  or  deposit.  The  other  parties  shall  proceed  by  the  same 
laws  after  the  others  have  fixed  their  boundaries.  Should  there  be  left  vacant 
ground  between  the  different  parties,  then  it  shall  be  at  the  option  of  the.  first 
discoverers  so  to  change  their  boundaries  as  shall  best  suit  them,  and  have  them 
recorded  accordingly.  Any  other  parties  shall  locate  in  the  order  of  the  time  of 
their  arrival  on  the  vein  or  mineral  deposit. 

SEC.  24.  Whenever  two  or  more  parties  shall  select  the  same  mine  or  mineral 
Deposit  for  exploration,  and  the  parties  first  on  the  ground,  knowing  the  other 
parties  to  be  at  work,  shall  fail  to  give  warning,  either  verbally  or  in  writing,  of 
their  priority  claim  on  such  vein  or  deposit,  then  that  portion  of  the  mine  situated 
between  the  main  excavations  of  the  two  parties  shall  be  equally  divided  be- 
tween them,  irrespective  of  the  number  of  members  each  company  may  have : 
Provided,  That  the  intervening  portions  shall  not  exceed  the  quantity  of  land 
allowed  by  the  provisions  of  this  chapter. 

SEC.  25.  The  laws  and  proceedings  of  all  mining  districts  established  in  this 
Territory  for  the  denouncement,  registration,  and  regulation  of  mines,  mining 
claims,  mineral  lands,  and  auxiliary  lands,  prior  to  the  day  this  act  takes  effect, 
are  hereby  legalized  and  declared  to  be  as  valid  and  binding  in  all  courts  of  law 
as  if  enacted  by  this  legislative  assembly,  to  the  extent  and  under  the  conditions 
and  restrictions  herein  contained. 

I.  All  rights,  claims^  and  titles  to  any  veins,  mineral  lands,  or  mineral  deposits, 
and  auxiliary  lands,  acquired  before  this  act  takes  effect,  under,  by  virtue  of,  and 
in. conformity  to  the  laws  of  said  mining  districts,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  valid 
and  legal,  and  shall  be  respected  and  enforced  in  all  courts  of  this  Territory, 
when  sustained  by  the  evidence  herein  provided ;  but  no  amount  of  work  done 
thereon  shall  be  construed  to  give  a  perpetual  title  thereto,  but  shall  give  such 
title  only  and  such  rights  and  privileges  as  is  provided  in  section  29  of  this 
chapter ;  and  no  person  who  was  at  the  time  of  the  location  of  his  claim  an 
inhabitant  of  this  Territory  shall  forfeit  his  claim  because  he  was  not  a  resident 
also  of  the  mining  district  in  which  his  said  claim  was  located.  And  no  such  right, 
claim,  or  title  shall  be  considered  as  abandoned  provided  the  claimant  shall  within 
eix  months  from  the  day  this  act  takes  effect  file  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate 
court  of  the  county  in  which  his  claim  is  situated  a  brief  description  of  the  same 
giving  the  name  of  the  district  in  which  the  lode  is  situated,  and  of  the  lode  or 
lodes,  and  the  extent  of  his  claim  thereon,  with  a  declaration  that  he  intends  to 
retain  and  work  the  same  according  to  law,  unless  fcuch  claim  has  been  forfeited 
and  subject  to  relocation  under  the  laws  of  such  mining  district  before  this  act 
takes  effect. 


252  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

II.  All  records  and  all  papers  required  by  the  laws  of  said  mining  districts 
to  be  deposited  with  the  recorders  of  said  districts  for  record  shall  be  received 
as  evidence  of  their  contents  in  all  courts  of  this  Territory,  and  shall  not  be  re- 
jected for  any  defects  in  their  form,  when  their  contents  may  be  understood,  but 
shall  be  valid  to  the  extent  provided  by  said  mining  laws,  except  as  hereinbefore 
restricted :  Provided,  That  such  records  and  papers  are  deposited  with  or  re- 
corded by  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  of  the  county  in  which  said  mining  dis- 
trict is  located,  and  within  three  months  from  the  time  this  acts  takes  effect ;  and 
if  said  records  or  papers  are  lost  or  mutilated,  or  if  such  recorder  of  a  mining 
district  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  deposit  the  same  as  aforesaid,  an  affidavit  of 
their  contents  made  by  any  person  interested  therein,  or  certified  or  sworn  copies 
thereof,  may  be  so  recorded,  and  shall  have  the  like  effect. 

III.  All  conveyances  of  mines,  mining  rights,  mineral  and  auxiliary  lands 
made  prior  to  the  time  this  act  takes  effect  shall  be  valid  and  binding  to  pass 
the  title  of  the  grantor  thereof,  although  defective  in  form  and  execution,  if  their 
contents  can  be  understood,  and  as  such  shall  be  received  and  regarded  in  all 
courts  of  this  Territory ;  Provided,  That  such  conveyances  shall  be  deposited 
with  or  recorded  by  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  of  the  county  where  said 
mines  are  situated,  within  three  months  from  the  time  this  act  takes  effect,  and 
if  lost  or  mutilated,  copies  or  affidavits  of  their  contents,  executed  as  aforesaid, 
may  be  recorded  as  provided  above. 

SEC.  26.  Every  recorder,  register,  clerk,  or  other  recording  officer,  of  every 
such  mining  district,  or  who  has  at  any  time  acted  as  such  recording  officer, 
within  three  months  after  this  act  takes  effect,  shall  deposit  with  the  clerk  of  the 
probate  court  of  the  county  in  which  said  district  or  greater  part  thereof  is  situ- 
ated, all  records  which  he  has  so  kept,  and  all  papers  deposited  in  his  hands  for* 
record,  and  papers  so  made  or  deposited  with  his  predecessors  in  said  office, 
which  are  in  his  hands  as  aforesaid,  or  he  shall  so  deposit  certified  copies  of  the 
same.  And  such  records  and  other  papers  shall  be  securely  kept  by  such  clerk, 
open  in  office  hours  to  public  inspection,  and  copies  of  the  same  duly  certified 
by  him  shall  be  received  in  all  courts  of  justice,  and  have  the  same  effect  as  the 
originals.  And  any  such  recorder,  register,  or  other  recording  officer  of  each 
mining  district  who  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this 
section  shall  be  liable  in  damages  to  the  party  injured  thereby,  and  shall  be 
liable  to  be  punished  by  the  judge  of  probate  of  the  county  in  which  said  nrning 
district,  or  the  greater  part  thereof,  is  situated,  for  contempt,  by  fine  not  exceed- 
ing five  thousand  dollars  and  imprisoned  not  more  than  one  year,  and  shall  bo 
incapable  of  holding  any  such  office  and  mining  claim. 

SEC.  27.  Mining  districts  now  existing  may  be  continued,  or  new  mining  dis- 
tricts may  be  established  in  the  manner  and  for  the  purposes  hereinafter  provided. 

I.  The  recorder  of  every  mining  district  now  existing  shall  at  the  same  time 
that  he  deposits  the  records  of  said  districts  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court, 
as  the  last  preceding  section  requires,  take  an  oath  before  the  judge  of  said 
court  that  he  will  faithfully  perform  the  duties  of  his  office  until  another  recorder 
ehall  be  elected  and  qualified  in  his  place,  which  oath  shall  be  recorded  by  the 
clerk  of  the  probate  court.  He  shall  record  in  a  book  to  be  kept  by  him  for  that 
purpose  all  notices  of  claims  or  rights  to  veins,  mineral  deposits,  mineral  lands, 
and  auxiliary  lands  which  may  be  left  with  him  t-o  be  recorded,  and  shall  note 
on  all  papers  which  may  be  received  by  him  to  be  recorded,  the  time  when  they 
were  so  received  by  him,  and  they  shall  be  considered  as  recorded  from  that 
time.  lie  shall,  when  requested  by  any  such  claimant,  go  with  him  to  his  claim 
and  see  that  the  same  is  measured  by  metes  and  bounds,  and  mark<  d  by  sub- 
stantial monuments  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  shall  make  a  record  of  the 
same,  arid  of  the  time  when  it  was  done,  and  certify  it  to  be  correct,  or  shall 
make  a  record  and  certificate  of  the  same  on  the  evidence  of  a  credible  witness, 
who  was  present  when  the  same  was  done,  arid  is  cognizant  of  the  facts,  and 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  253 

whose  name  shall  be  entered  on  the  record.  He  shall,  when  requested  by  any 
such  claimant,  go  with  him  to  his  claim  and  examine  any  shaft  that  may  be 
Bunk  by  him,  or  tunnels  that  may  be  opened  to  the  same,  and  make  measure- 
ments of  the  same,  and  a  record  and  certificate  as  aforesaid ;  and  he  shall  in  like 
manner  examine,  measure,  or  estimate,  and  make  and  record  a  certificate  of  any 
work  which  is  required  by  law  to  be  done  by  a  claimant.  And  the  said  record- 
ing officer  shall,  quarterly,  file  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  of  the  county 
in  which  said  district  is  located  a  copy  by  him  certified  of  all  records  made  by 
him  for  the  three  months  last  preceding,  which  shall  be  duly  recorded  by  said 
clerk,  and  a  copy  of  said  record  duly  certified  by  him  shall  be  evidence  of  its 
contents  in  all  courts  of  this  Territory.  And  such  recording  officer  shall  be 
liable  to  all  the  penalties  provided  in  the  preceding  section  if  he  shall  neglect  or 
refuse  to  perform  any  of  the  acts  and  duties  required  of  him  by  this  section,  but 
shall  not  be  required  to  perform  any  such  service  until  his  fees  for  the  same,  to 
be  fixed  by  the  mining  districts,  are  paid  him,  if  he  requests  it.  And  if  any 
paper  deposited  with  him  for  record  is  required  to  be  recorded  by  the  clerk  of 
the  probate  court,  ho  shall  at  the  time  said  paper  is  so  deposited  with  him  take 
and  receive  the  fee  fixed  by  law  for  recording  such  paper  by  said  clerk,  and  pay 
the  said  clerk  said  fee  when  he  deposits  said  paper  with  him  to  be  recorded  as 
aforesaid.  All  such  mining  districts  may  make  laws  not  inconsistent  with  the 
laws  of  the  Territory,  may  elect  officers  for  the  government  of  such  districts,  and 
fix  their  compensation,  but  all  such  acts  and  proceedings  shall  be  recorded,  and 
all  records  and  papers  thereof  filed  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  as  aforesaid. 

II.  Any  number  of  persons,  not  less  than  twelve,  owning  mining  claims  in  any 
mining  district,  or  in  any  contiguous  mining  districts,  or  who  have  discovered 
and  may  wish  to  denounce  a  mine  or  mineral  lands,  not  within  the  limits  of  any 
established  mining  district,  may  proceed  to  make  a  new  mining  district  at  a 
meeting  of  persons  holding  claims  in  such  district  so  to  be  established,  and  of 
claimants  in  any  districts  to  be  divided  or  to  be  included  therein.  They  shall 
cause  a  notice  in  writing,  and  specifying  the  limits  of  said  contemplated  district, 
signed  by  them,  to  be  posted  in  three  conspicuous  places  in  said  district,  and  if 
any  part  of  an  established  district  is  to  be  included  therein  by  leaving  a  copy 
of  said  notice  with  the  recorder  of  said  district  at  least  ten  days  before  the  day 
of  said  meeting.  At  said  meeting  all  persons  holding  claims  as  aforesaid  may 
vote,  and  may  determine  by  a  majority  vote  of  those  present  whether  said  new 
district  shall  be  established,  and  its  limits,  but  within  the  boundaries  named  in 
the  notice  for  said  meeting,  and  thereupon  the  persons  holding  claims  in  such 
newly  established  district  shall  proceed  to  select  a  name,  and  make  laws  therefor, 
and  elect  a  recorder,  who  shall  be  qualified  as  aforesaid,  who  shall  perform  all 
the  duties  and  be  subject  to  all  the  liabilities  provided  in  this  chapter  for  such 
officers,  and  shall  file  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  as  aforesaid  a  record 
of  the  proceedings  of  this  and  all  subsequent  meetings  at  the  time  and  in  the 
manner  herein  provided. 

SEC.  28.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  claimants  of  mineral  tracts  to  sink  at 
least  one  shaft  of  thirty  feet  in  depth,  or  to  run  a  tunnel  of  fifty  feet  in  length, 
in  the  body  of  the  vein  or  in  the  adjoining  rock,  so  as  to  test  the  vein  from  the 
surface,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  character  and  capacity  of  such  mine- 
ral deposit,  within  the  space  of  one  year  from  the  day  of  first  taking  possession 
thereof,  and  they  shall  notify  the  recorder  of  the  mining  district  that  said  shal't 
or  other  work  is  completed,  and  that  they  intend  working  the  vein  or  mineral 
deposit.  And  the  recorder  shall  examine  said  work  in  person,  and  make  and 
record  a  certificate  of  the  result  of  such  examination,  which  shall  contain  a 
statement  of  the  condition  and  quality  of  the  vein  or  mineral  deposit,  the  amount 
of  labor  perfDrmed,  and  a  general  view  of  the  results  obtained.  Said  report 
shall  be  accompanied  by  three  specimens  taken  from  different  parts  of  the  work, 
which  said  specimens,  with  a  copy  of  the  record  so  made  by  him,  shall  be  filed 


254  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

by  him  within  the  time  required  by  this  act  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
probate  court.  And  eaid  clerk  shall  make  a  record  of  the  same.  Such  speci- 
mens shall  be  numbered  and  described  by  him,  and  be  preserved  for  the  use  of 
the  mineralogical  professorship  of  the  University  of  Arizona. 

SEC.  29.  The  judge  of  the  probate  court,  at  any  time  within  thirty  days  after 
the  record  made  by  the  clerk  of  said  court,  as  provided  in  the  preceding  section, 
upon  complaint  in  writing  made  to  him  by  such  claimants,  describing  fully  their 
claims,  stating  the  labor  performed  by  them,  and  the  certificate  thereof,  and 
that  the  registration  of  the  same  has  been  made  as  required  by  law,  and  request- 
ing that  their  title  thereto  may  be  confirmed,  shall  cause  a  summons,  under  the 
seal  of  his  court,  to  be  issued,  requiring  all  persons  interested  to  appear  at  a  day 
named  therein,  and  which  shall  not  be  less  than  sixty  days  from  the  day  the 
same  was  issued,  and  show  cause  why  the  title  of  such  complainants  and  claim- 
ants should  not  be  confirmed,  a  copy  of  which  complaint  and  summons,  duly 
attested  by  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court,  shall  be  published  twice  in  the  terri- 
torial newspaper,  and  be  kept  posted  in  the  office  of  said  clerk  from  the  day  of 
issuing  the  same  to  the  return  day  thereof ;  and  if  no  person  shall  appear  on  such 
return  day  to  contest  the  right  of  the  claimants  to  such  claims,  the  judge  of  pro- 
bate shall  examine  all  the  records  filed  in  the  office  of  his  clerk  relating  to  such 
claims,  and  if  he  finds  that  the  said  claimants  have  in  all  respects  complied 
with  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  he  shall  make  a  decree  in  substance  that  the 
complainants  having  complied  with  the  laws  of  this  Territory  relating  to  the 
denouncement  and  registration  of  mines,  have  acquired  a  perfect  title  to  their 
claims  (describing  the  same)  until  the  1st  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1868,  and 
forever  after  unless  abandoned  by  them.  And  the  said  clerk  shall  give  the  said 
claimant  a  copy  of  such  decree,  under  the  seal  of  the  court,  which  shall  be  con- 
clusive evidence  of  title  in  any  proceedings  relating  to  such  claims,  until  they 
are  abandoned.  And  unless  the  persons  adversely  interested  and  contesting 
the  title  of  the  complainants  shall  appear  on  the  day  named  in  said  complaint, 
and  proceed  as  hereinafter  provided,  they  shall  be  forever  barred  from  contest- 
ing the  title  of  said  complainants  to  such  claims.  And  if  the  contestants  shall 
so  appear  they  shall  on  that  day  or  some  day  to  be  fixed  by  said  judge  proceed 
to  file  an  answer,  setting  forth  their  claim  and  case,  and  the  proceedings  shall 
then  be  conducted  in  conformity  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  and  the  code 
of  civil  practice.  And  whenever  a  final  decree  is  made  thereon,  determining 
the  title  to  said  claim  or  mine,  by  said  judge,  or  by  any  other  court  on  appeal, 
the  said  judge  shall  cause  a  record  to  be  made  in  the  office  of  his  clerk  of  such 
decree,  and  a  certified  copy  thereof  may  be  made  as  aforesaid,  with  the  like 
(ffect.  And  any  claimants  of  mineral  lands  who  before  this  act  takes  effect 
have  in  any  way  or  under  any  law  acquired  a  title  to  such  mineral  lands,  after 
filing  with  the  clerk  of  the  court  their  evidence  of  title  and  description  of  claim 
as  required  by  this  chapter,  may  cause  an  examination  of  the  shaft  sunk  by 
them  or  other  work  done  by  them  to  be  made  as  aforesaid,  and  take  the  like 
proceedings  for  the  confirmation  of  their  titles,  with  the  same  effect :  Provided, 
This  section  shall  not  apply  except  when  the  complainants  are  in  possession  of 
such  mine  or  mining  rights,  claiming  title  thereto. 

SEC.  30.  By  reason  of  the  Indian  wars  and  unsettled  condition  of  the  country, 
the  time  within  which  a  shaft  is  required  to  be  sunk,  or  other  labor  performed 
on  a  claim,  shall  not  commence  until  two  years  from  the  day  this  act  takes 
effect,  and  all  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  relating  thereto  are  suspended  for 
that  time ;  but  any  claimant  my  sink  a  shaft  or  do  such  other  labor,  and  at 
any  time  after  the  record  of  their  claims  with  the  probate  court,  and  thereupon 
institute  proceedings  to  confirm  their  titles,  and  be  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  provided  for  in  this  chapter. 

SEC.  31.  No  single  person  or  company  shall  be  compelled  to  sink  shafts  or 
make  other  improvements  on  more  than  one  of  the  tracts  of  land  claimed  by 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  255 

him  or  them  for  the  same  vein  or  mineral  deposit ;  and  any  number  of  claimants 
on  the  same  vein  or  mineral  deposit,  who  may  unite  for  said  purpose,  shall  be 
allowed  to  concentrate  labor,  capital,  and  energy  to  any  one  single  point  which 
to  him  or  them  shall  be  best  suited  to  ascertain  to  the  best  advantage  the  general 
character,  quality,  and  capacity  of  that  particular  vein  or  mineral  deposit,  and 
may  take  the  like  proceedings  to  confirm  their  titles. 

SEC.  32  After  the  work  required  by  section  28  of  this  chapter  has  been  per- 
formed, and  the  record  thereof  made  as  therein  provided,  two  years  shall  be 
allowed,  the  claimants  of  mineral  lands  to  develop  the  same,  and  procure  ma- 
chinery and  provide  for  working  the  same ;  and  during  that  time  the  same  shall 
not  be  considered  abandoned,  although  no  work  be  done  thereon  :  Provided, 
That  in  such  an  event,  they  shall  annually,  and  before  the  first  day  of  June 
in  each  year,  file  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  an  affidavit  signed  by 
them  that  they  have  not  abandoned  such  claims,  but  intend,  in  good  faith,  to 
work  them ;  and  said  term  of  two  years  shall  not  commence  until  the  first  day 
of  January,  A.  D.  1868.  And  after  the  expiration  of  said  teTm  of  two  years, 
it  shall  be  obligatory  upon  claimants  to  such  mineral  lands  to  hold  actual  pos- 
session of  them  and  work  the  vein,  which  obligation  shall  be  considered  as  com- 
plied with  by  doing  at  least  thirty  days'  work  thereon  in  each  year ;  but  if 
such  claimants  are  prevented  from  working  such  vein  by  the  hostility  of  Indians 
or  other  good  cause,  rendering  said  working  difficult  or  dangerous,  they  may, 
by  authority  of  the  judge  of  probate  first  obtained,  be  relieved  from  perform- 
ing labor  thereon  from  time  to  time,  but  for  notcnore  than  one  year  at  any  one 
time,  during  the  continuance  of  such  cause. 

SEC.  33.  Any  person  who  may  discover  a  mineral  vein  or  deposit  as  afore- 
said, which  is  not  included  within  a  mining  district,  or  which  may  be  in  a  mi- 
ning district  in  which  there  is  no  legally  authorized  recorder,  may  acquire  title 
thereto,  and  to  auxiliary  lands,  by  giving  notice  as  aforesaid,  and  recording  the 
same  with  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court  of  the  county  in  which  the  same  is 
situated,  and  may  take  the  same  proceedings,  with  the  like  effect,  with  the 
clerk  of  the  probate  court  that  are  required  to  be  taken  with  the  recorder  of  a 
mining  district. 

SEC.  34.  Discoverers  of  mines  on  lands  in  the  legal  ownership  or  possession 
of  others,  and  not  public  lands,  before  doing  the  work  of  sinking  the  shaft  re- 
quired by  section  28  of  this  chapter,  shall  pay  to  such  parties  such  compensa- 
tion for  the  use  of  the  same  as  may  be  awarded  by  the  judge  of  probate  upon 
complaint  of  either  party,  or  shall  give  bond  to  such  parties  for  payment  of 
the  same,  and  sureties  to  be  approved  by  said  judge;  and  whenever  it  becomes 
necessary  or  advantageous  to  construct  tunnels  for  the  purpose  of  drainage, 
ventilation,  or  the  better  hauling  of  ores  or  other  subterraneous  products  or  mi- 
ning materials,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  party  or  parties  to  construct  such  tun- 
nel or  drift  through  all  private  and  public  property  :  Provided,  That  all  damages 
arising  from  such  subterranean  works  to  the  other  parties,  to  be  determined  as 
provided  above,  shall  be  paid  by  the  parties  for  whose  benefit  such  tunnelling 
is  done,  to  be  paid  before  such  work  is  commenced,  or  security  given  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  jtfdge  of  probate  for  the  payment  of  the  same  ;  but  no  damages 
shall  be  paid  on  public  lands  when  claims  for  such  lands  shall  be  set  up  after 
such  tunnel  shall  have  been  projected  or  actually  in  process  of  construction  : 
Provided,  That  the  lapse  of  time  between  projection  and  actual  work  shall  not 
exceed  ninety  days,  and  that  the  tunnelling-  parties  give  timely  notice  of  their 
project  to  any  new  claimant  of  the  so  affected  ground. 

SEC.  35.  Whenever  such  tunnel  as  mentioned  in  the  preceding  section  shall 
intersect  or  traverse  mineral  deposits,  or  run  along  lodes  claimed  and  held  by 
other  parties,  then  it  shall  be  at  the  option  of  the  owners  of  such  other  mineral 
deposits  either  to  pay  one-half  of  the  expense  of  excavation  for  the  distance 
that  such  tunnel  runs  through  their  mineral  deposits,  and  secure  the  whole  of 


256  RESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

the  ores  excavated,  or  to  divide  the  ores  with  the  tunnelling  parties,  the  latter 
paying  all  expenses  of  excavation  ;  or  it  shall  be  optional  with  either  party  to 
abandon  fill  claim  to  the  ores  excavated. 

SEC.  36.  If,  in  the  construction  of  such  subterranean  works,  new  veins  or 
deposits  are  encountered  in  ground  not  claimed  or  owned  by  other  parties,  they 
shall  become  the  property  of  the  party  for  whom  such  tunnel  is  constructed,  and 
shall  be  denounced  and  registered  as  is  required  of  new  mines,  and  shall  be 
governed  by  the  same  laws  as  are  prescribed  in  this  chapter. 

SEC.  37.  Any  claimant  or  claimants  not  complying  with  any  of  the  foregoing 
conditions  and  obligations  shall  forfeit  all  right  to  any  such  recorded  or  unre- 
corded claims  to  mineral  and  auxiliary  tracts  ;  and  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  him 
or  them  to  register  such  claims  anew  within  a  period  of  three  years  after  such 
forfeiture.  All  such  tracts  shall  be  free  for  working  and  registry  to  any  but 
those  excepted  in  this  section. 

SEC.  38.  All  veins  and  mineral  deposits  situated  on  public  lands,  which  have 
not  been  worked  and  occupied  from  the  time  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Territory 
by  the  United  States  up  to  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  chapter,  except  as 
herein  provided,  shall  be  considered  as  abandoned  and  subject  to  registry  and 
denouncement. 

SEC.  39.  All  veins  and  mineral  deposits  that  have  been  or  may  be  abandoned 
hereafter  shall,  in  all  cases  and  respects,  be  governed  by  the  laws  regulating  the 
opening  and  working  of  new  veins  and  deposits,  as  prescribed  in  this  chapter. 

SEC.  40.  Whenever  any  min,e  vein,  or  mineral  deposit  shall  have  been  aban- 
doned or  forfeited  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  and  regis- 
tered anew  by  other  parties,  it  shall  be  obligatory  upon  such  parties  to  give  the 
former  owners  warning  thereof,  so  as  to  remove  from  the  tract  within  the  space 
of  three  months  anything  he  or  they  may  think  valuable  or  useful.  Such 
warning  shall  be  given  in  the  nearest  newspaper  published -in  the  Territory,  and 
by  posting  it  at  three  of  the  most  conspicuous  places  in  the  county  where  the 
mine  is  situated.  Three  months  after  the  expiration  of  such  warning,  any  and 
all  buildings,  furnaces,  arrastras,  metals,  and  every  other  species  of  property 
which  may  still  remain  on  the  ground  of  such  mine,  vein,  or  mineral  deposit, 
shall  become  the  undisputed  property  of  the  new  claimant,  without  compensa- 
tion of  any  kind  to  any  person  whatever. 

SEC.  41.  Any  person  taking  possession  of  or  entering  upon  a  mining  claim  or 
auxiliary  lands,  registered  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  and  be- 
fore it  is  abandoned,  shall  be  ousted  therefrom  in  a  summary  manner  by  the 
order  of  the  probate  judge,  and  the  malfeasor  shall  be  adjudged  to  pay  all  dam- 
ages and  costs  consequent  thereon. 

SEC.  51.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  persons  who  may  discover  and  claim  mining 
rights  or  mineral  lands,  at  the  same  time  that  they  may  define  the  boundary  of 
their  claim  or  claims  to  any  lode  or  mine  as  required  by  the  provisions  of  this 
chapter,  to  lay  off  and  define  the  boundary  of  one  pertenencia  as  required  by 
the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  adjoining  their  claim  or  claims,  which  shall  be 
the  property  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona.  And  at  the  same  time  that  they  pre- 
sent their  notice  of  claim  or  claims  to  be  recorded  by  the  recorder  of  the  mining 
district,  they  shall  also  present  to  such  recorder  the  claim  of  said  Territory. 
And  if  said  discoverers  and  claimants  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  present  to  such 
recorder  the  claim  of  said  Territory  as  aforesaid,  they  shall  forever  forfeit  all 
claim  to  the  mine  or  ledge  so  discovered  by  them.  Any  recording  officer  re- 
cording the  claim  or  claims  of  such  discoverers  and  claimants,  when  the  claim 
of  said  Territory  is  not  filed  therewith  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  subject  to  all  the 
penalties  provided  in  section  26  of  this  chapter.  Such,  claim  shall  be  re- 
corded as  provided  in  this  chapter  for  like  claims,  but  no  work  shall  be  required 
,to  be  done  thereon,  nor  shall  it  be  considered  to  be  abandoned  so  long  as  it  is 
the  property  of  the  Territory;  and  if  sold,  the  time  within  which  the  purchaser 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  257 

shall  be  required  to  work  said  claim  shall  commence  from  the  day  of  sale,  ex- 
cept when  the  time  is  suspended  as  before  provided.  Every  clerk  of  the  probate 
court,  as  soon  as  he  records  the  said  claim,  shall  send  a  copy  of  his  record  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  Territory,  and  no  fees  shall  be  charged  by  any  recording 
officer  in  any  matter  relating  to  said  claim.  And  the  territorial  treasurer  may 
at  any  time  after  six  months  from  the  day  he  receives  such  record  as  aforesaid, 
and  at  such  time  and  place  as  in  his  opinion  will  be  most  for  the  interest  of  the 
Territory,  cause  such  claim  to  be  sold  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  but  every 
such  sale  shall  be  at  least  twice  advertised  in  the  territorial  newspaper,  and  be 
held  at  his  office,  or  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  probate  court,  or  recorder  of  the 
mining  district  of  the  county  where  the  claim  is  situated.  And  the  treasurer  is 
authorized  to  make  a  deed  of  the  same  to  the  purchaser  in  the  name  of  the  Ter- 
ritory ;  and  the  amount  received  by  him  shall  be  added  by  him  to  any  fund  now 
or  hereafter  provided  for  the  protection  of  the  people  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona 
against  hostile  Indians,  and  be  expended  as  provided  by  law.  And  after  all 
expenses  as  are  incurred  by  the  territorial  authorities  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
stroying or  bringing  into  subjection  all  hostile  Indian  tribes  in  this  Territory 
are  liquidated,  then  all  remaining  or  accruing  funds,  out  of  all  or  any  sales  of 
territorial  mining  claims,  shall  be  applied  as  a  sinking  fund  for  school  purposes. 

SEC.  52.  The  extraction  of  gold  from  alluvial  and  diluvial  deposits,  generally 
termed  placer  mining,  shall  not  be  considered  mining  proper,  and  shall  not  en- 
title persons  occupied  in  it  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  nor  shall  any  pre- 
vious section  of  this  chapter  be  so  construed  as  to  refer  to  the  extraction  of  gold 
from  the  above  mentioned  deposits. 

SEC.  53.  This  chapter  shall  be  in  force  and  take  effect  from  and  after  the  1st 
day  of  January,  A.  I).  1865. 

23.— THE  MINING  LAWS  OF  MEXICO. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  royal  ordinance  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
published  in  1783,  and  ever  smce  in  force  in  Mexico.  The  translation  is  by 
Rockwell.*  Only  those  portions  of  the  ordinance  are  copied  relating  to  the 
location,  size,  and  tenure  of  claims.  The  sections  not  quoted  are  devoted 
mainly  to  a  statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the  miners  are  to  enforce  their 
legal  rights : 

CHAPTER    IV. 

SECTION  1.  As  it  is  most  just  and  proper  to  reward  with  particularity  and 
distinction  those  persons  who  devote  themselves  to  the  discovery  of  new  mineral 
places  and  metallic  veins  found  therein  in  proportion  to  the  importance  and 
utility  of  such  discovery,  I  order  and  command  that  the  discoverers  of  one  or 
more  mineral  mountains,  wherein  no  mine  or  shaft  has  been  open  before,  acquire 
in  the  principal  vein  as  much  as  three  portions,  together  or  separate,  where  it 
best  pleases  them,  according  to  the  measures  hereafter  signified ;  and  that,  on 
having  discovered  more  veins,  they  shall  acquire  a  portion  in  each  vein,  fixing 
on  and  marking  the  said  portions  within  the  term  of  ten  days. 

SEC.  2.  The  discoverer  of  a  new  vein  in  a  mountain  known  and  worked  iu 
other  parts  may  hold  in  it  two  portions,  together  or  separated  by  other  mines, 
on  condition  that  he  specifies  them  within  ten  days,  as  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
ceding section. 

SEC.  3.  He  who  proposes  for  a  new  mine  in  a  vein  already  known  and 
worked  in  part  is  not  to  be  considered  a  discoverer. 

*  A  compilation  of  Spanish  and  Mexican  law  in  relation  to  mines  and  titles  to  real  estate 
in  force  in  California,  Texas,  and  New  Mexico,  and  in  the  countries  acquired  under  the 
Louisiana  and  Florida  treaties  when  annexed  to  the  United  States.  By  J.  A.  Rockwell. 
New  York,  1851. 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 17 


258  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

SEC.  4.  The  person  referred  to  in  the  preceding  sections  must  present  a 
written  statement  to  the  deputation  of  miners  in  that  district,  or  in  case  there 
should  not  be  one  in  that  district,  to  the  nearest  thereunto,  specifying  in  it  his 
name,  those  of  his  associates,  (if  he  has  any,)  the  place  of  his  birth,  his  place 
of  habitation,  profession,  and  employment,  together  with  the  most  particular 
and  distinguishing  features  of  the  tract,  mountain,  or  vein  of  which  he  claims 
the  discovery;  all  which  circumstances,  as  well  as  the  hour  in  which  the  dis- 
coverer shall  present  himself,  must  be  noted  down  in  a  register  kept  by  the 
deputation  and  clerk,  (if  they  have  one ;)  and  after  this  the  said  written  state- 
ment shall,  for  his  due  security,  be  restored  to  the  discoverer,1  and  notices  of  its 
object  and  contents  shall  be  affixed  to  the  doors  of  the  church,  the  government 
houses,  and  other  public  buildings  of  the  town  for  the  sake  of  general  notoriety. 
And  I  ordain  that  Within, the  term  of  ninety  days  the  discoverer  shall  cause 
to  be  made  in  the  vein  or  veins  so  registered  a  pit  of  a  yard  and  a  half  in 
diameter  or  breadth  and  ten  yards  (varas)  in  depth,  and  that  immediately  on 
the  existence  of  the  vein  being  ascertained  one  of  the  deputies  in  person  shall 
visit  it,  accompanied  by  the  clerk,  (if  there  is  one,)  or  if  there  be  no  clerk,  by 
two  assisting  witnesses  and  by  the  mining  professor  of  that  territory,  in  order 
to  inspect  the  course  and  direction  of  the  vein,  its  size,  its  inclination  on  the 
horizon,  called  its  falling  or  declivity,  its  hardness  or  softness,  the  greater  or 
less  firmness  of  its  bed,  and  the  principal  marks  and  species  of  the  mineral ; 
taking  exact  account  of  all  this  in  order  to  add  the  same  to  the  entry  in  the 
register,  together  with  the  act  of  possession,  which  must  immediately  be  given 
to  the  discoverer  in  my  royal  name,  measuring  him  his  portion,  and  making  him 
enclose  it  by  poles  at  the  limits  as  hereafter  declared  ;  after  which,  an  authentic 
copy  of  the  proceedings  shall  be  delivered  to  him  for  the  security  of  his  title. 

SEC.  5.  If  during  the  above-named  ninety  days  any  one  should  appear  assert- 
ing a  right  to  the  said  discovery,  a  brief  judicial  hearing  shall  be  granted,  and 
judgment  given  in  favor  of  him  who  best  proves  his  claim  ;  however,  if  this 
should  happen  after  the  stated  time,  he  (the  new  claimant)  shall  not  be  heard. 

SEC.  6.  The  restorers  of  ancient  mines  which  iiave  been  abandoned  and  left 
to  decay  shall  enjoy  the  same  privileges  as  discoverers,  of  choosing  and  pos- 
sessing three  portions  in  the  principal  vein  and  one  in  each  of  the  others,  and 
both  revivers  and  discoverers  shall,,  as  an  especial  reward,  be  on  all  occasions 
preferred  to  other  persons  under  parity  of  circumstances. 

SEC.  7.  If  there  arises  any  question  as  to  who  has  been  the  first  discoverer 
of  a  vein,  he  shall  be  considered  as  such  who  first  found  metal  therein,  even 
though  others  may  have  made  an  opening  previously ;  and  in  case  of  further 
doubt,  he  who  first  gets  it  registered  shall  be  considered  as  the  discoverer. 

SEC.  8.  Whoever  shall  denounce  in  the  terms  hereafter  expressed  any  mine 
that  has  been  deserted  and  abandoned  shall  have  his  denouncement  received,  if 
he  therein  sets  forth  the  circumstances  already  declared  in  section  four  of  this 
chapter,  the  actual  existence  of  the  mine  in  question,  the  name  of  its  last  pos- 
sessor, if  he  is  acquainted  with  the  same,  and  those  of  the  neighboring  miners, 
all  of  whom  shall  be  lawfully  summoned,  and  if  within  ten  days  they  do  not 
appear,  the  denouncement  shall  be  publicly  declared  on  the  three  following  Sun- 
days ;  this  meeting  with  no  opposition,  it  shall  be  signified  to  the  denouncer 
that  within  sixty  days  he  must  have  cleared  and  reinstated  some  work  of  con- 
siderable depth,  or  at  least  of  ten  yards  perpendicular  and  within  the  bed  of  the 
vein,  in  order  that  the  mining  professor  may  inspect  its  course  and  inclination 
and  all  its  peculiar  circumstances  as  is  declared  in  the  above-named  section  four. 
The  said  professor  should,  if  it  is  possible,  examine  the  pits  and  works  of  the 
mine  and  see  if  they  are  decayed,  destroyed,  or  inundated ;  whether  they  contain 
a  draft  pit  or  adit  or  are  capable  of  such ;  whether  they  have  an  outer  court,  a 
whim,  machines,  rooms  for  habitation,  and  stables ;  and  an  account  and  register 
of  all  these  circumstances  must  be  entered  in  the  corresponding  book  of  de- 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  259 

n~>uncements,  which  should  be  kept  separately.  And  the  said  examination  being 
made,  the  portions  being  measured  and  bounded  by  stakes  in  the  ground,  as 
shall  hereafter  be  explained,  possession  of  them  shall  be  given  to  the  denouncer, 
without  regard  to  any  opposition,  which  cannot  be  attended  to  unless  made 
within  the  term  before  described;  however,  if  during  that  time  any  opposition 
is  brought  forward,  the  parties  shall  have  a  brief  judicial  hearing  and  the  cause 
be  determined  accordingly. 

.  SEC.  9.  If  the  former  mine  owner  should  appear  in  order  to  oppose  the 
denouncement  when  the  three  public  proclamations  are  over  and  when  the  de- 
nouncer has  commenced  the  sixty  days  allowed  for  reinstating  the  pit  of  ten 
yards,  he  shall  not  be  heard  as  to  the  ppssession,  but  only  as  to  his  right  in  the 
property;  .and  if  he  succeeds  in  establishing  this,  he  must  make  good  the 
expenses  incurred  by  the  denouncer,  unless  the  latter  is  proved  to  have  acted 
fraudulently,  in  which  case  he  must  lose  such  expenses. 

SEC.  10.  If  the  denouncer  does  not  make  or  complete  the  shaft  as  prescribed, 
nor  take  possession  within  the  sixty  days,  he  loses  his  right,  and  any  other  person 
has  the  power  of  denouncing  the  mine.  If,  however,  from  the  ground  being 
entirely  broken  up  or  otherwise  difficult  and  impracticable,  or  for  any  other  real 
and  serious  obstacle  he  has  been  unable  to  complete  the  same  within  the  said 
sixty  days,  he  must  have  recourse  to  the  respective  territorial  deputation,  when, 
his  difficultif  s  being  examined  and  proved,  the  period  may  be  prolonged  for  as 
long  a  time  as  the  deputation  may  think  necessary  for  the  purpose,  and  no  more; 
no  opposition  to  his  claim  being  admitted  after  the  ordinary  term  of  sixty  days. 

SEC.  17.  I  prohibit  any  one  (not  being  the  discoverer)  from  denouncing  two 
contiguous  mines  upon  one  and  the  same  vein ;  but  I  permit  any  person  to  ac- 
quire and  possess  one  by  denouncement,  and  another  or  more  by  purchase,  gift, 
inheritance,  or  other  just  title.  And  I  further  declare  that  if  any  one  desires  to 
attempt  the  re-establishment  of  several  inundated  or  decayed  mines,  or  other 
considerable  enterprise  of  this  kind,  and  for  this  purpose  claims  the  grant  of 
several  portions,  although  they  be  contiguous  and  upon  the  same  vein,  such 
claim  must  be  laid  before  the  royal  tribunal  general  of  Mexico,  in  order  that, 
the  circumstances  and  importance  of  the  undertaking  being  ascertained,  they 
may  acquaint  the  viceroy  therewith,  who,  on  finding  therein  nothing  prejudicial 
to  the  body  of  the  miners,  the  public,  or  my  royal  treasury,  shall  grant  him  this 
and  other  privileges,  exemptions,  and  aids,  on  condition  that  my  royal  approba- 
tion is  previously  obtained  to  all  such  favors,  which  cannot  be  granted  by  the 
ordinary  authority  of  the  viceroy. 

SEC.  18.  Beds  of  ore  and  other  depositories  of  gold  and  silver,  on  being  dis- 
covered, shall  be  registered  and  denounced  in  the  same  manner  as  mines  or 
veins,  the  same  being  understood  of  all  species  of  metal. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

SECTION  1.  To  all  the  subjects  in  my  dominions,  both  in  Spain  and  the  In- 
dies, of  whatever  rank  and  condition  they  may  be,  I  grant  the  mines  of  every 
species  of  metal  under  the  conditions  already  stated,  or  that  shall  be  expressed 
hereafter,  but  I  prohibit  foreigners  from  acquiring  or  working  mines  as,  their 
own  property,  in  these  my  dominions,  unless  they 'be  naturalized  or  tolerated 
therein  by  my  express  royal  license.  (See  decree  of  President  Comonfort.) 

SEC.  2.  I  also  prohibit  regulars  of  religious  orders,  of  both  sexes,  from  de- 
nouncing, or  in  any  manner  acquiring  for  themselves,  their  convents,  or  com- 
munities, any  mines  whatever  ;  it  being  understood  that  the  working  of  the 
mines  shall  not  devolve  upon  the  secular  ecclesiastics,  as  being  contrary  to 
the  laws,  to  the  orders  of  the  Mexican  consul,  and  to  the  sanctity  and  exercise 
of  their  profession  ;  and,  therefore,  in  consequence  of  this  prohibition,  all  such 
secular  ecclesiastics  shall  be  expressly  obliged  to  sell  or  place  in  the  hands  of 


260  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

lay  subjects  the  mines  or  establishments  for  smelting  ore,  and  reducing  estab- 
lishments which  have  devolved  on  them  by  inheritance  or  other  cause,  the  same 
being  completed  within  the  term  of  six  months,  or  within  such  time  as  may  be 
considered  necessary  to  insure  a  useful  result,  which  is  to  be  fixed  by  the  vice- 
roy, with  a  previous  intimation  to  the  royal  tribunal  general  of  the  mines  ; 
provided,  that  if  it  is  ascertained  that  by  artifice  or  fraud  the  effects  of  this 
article  are  attempted  to  be  eluded,  to  the  prejudice  of  fhe  working  of  such  mines 
and  establishments,  in  which  the  state  is  so  much  interested,  they  shall  be  de- 
nounced and  disposed  of  in  the  same  manner  as  mines  in  general. 

SEC.  3.  Neither,  shall  mines  be  held  by  governors,  inten dents,  mayors,  chief 
judges,  nor  any  other  public  officers  whatever,  of  the  mine  towns  and  districts, 
nor  their  clerks  ;  but  I  permit  such  persons  to  hold  mi  ties  in  any  territory  out 
of  their  own  jurisdiction. 

SEC.  4.  Neither  shall  administrators,  stewards,  overseers,  keepers  of  tallies, 
workers  or  watchers  of  mines,  nor,  in  general,  any  person  in  the  service  of  mine 
owners,  whether  of  superior  or  subordinate  class,  be  permitted  to  register,  denounce, 
or  in  any  other  manner  acquire  mines  within  the  space  of  a  thousand  yards  round 
those  of  their  masters,  but  I  allow  them  to  denounce  any  mine  for  their  said 
masters,  even  though  not  authorized  by  them  to  do  so,  provided  the  aforesaid 
masters  make  good  the  denouncement  in  the  terms  prescribed  by  section  eight 
of  chapter  six  of  these  ordinances. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SECTION  1.  Experience  having  shown  that  the  equality  of  the  mine  meas- 
ures established  on  the  surface  cannot  be  maintained  under  ground,  where  in 
fact  the  mines  are  chiefly  valuable,  it  being  certain  that  the  greater  or  less  in- 
'  clination  of  the  vein  upon  the  plane  of  the  horizon  must  render  the  respective 
properties  in  the  mines  greater  or  smaller,  so  that  the  true  and  effective  impar- 
tiality which  it  has  been  desired  to  show  towards  all  subjects,  of  equal  merit, 
has  not  been  preserved ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  often  happened  that  when 
a  miner,  after  much  expense  and  labor,  begins  at  last  to  reach  an  abundant  and 
rich  ore,  he  is  obliged  to  turn  back,  as  having  entered  on  the  property  of  an- 
other, which  latter  may  have  denounced  the  neighboring  mine,  and  thus  sta- 
tioned himself  with  more  art  than  industry.  This  being  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  frequent  causes  of  litigation  and  dissension  among  the  miners,  and  consid- 
ering that  the  limits  established  in  the  mines  of  these  kingdoms,  and  by  which 
those  of  New  Spain  have  been  hitherto  regulated,  are  very  confined  in  propor- 
tion to  the  abundance,  multitude,  and  richness  of  the  metallic  veins  which  it  has 
pleased  the  Creator  of  his  great  bounty  to  bestow  on  these  regions,  I  order  and 
command  that  in  the  mines  where  new  veins,  or  veins  unconnected  with  each 
other,  shall  be  discovered,  the  following  measures  shall  in  future  be  observed. 

SEC.  2.  On  the  course  and  direction  of  the  vein,  whether  gold,  silver,  or 
other  metal,  I  grant  to  every  miner,  without  any  distinction  in  favor  of  the 
discoverer,  whose  reward  has  been  specified,  two  hundred  yards,  (Spanish  yards 
or  varas,)  called  measuring  yards,  taken  on  a  level,  as  hitherto  understood. 

SEC.  3.  To  make  it  what  they  call  a  square,  that  is,  making  a  right  angle 
with  the  preceding  measure,  supposing  the  descent  or  inclination. of  the  vein  to 
be  sufficiently  shown  by  the  opening  or  shaft  of  ten  yards,  the  portion  shall  be 
measured  by  the  following  rule. 

SEC.  4.  Where  the  vein  is  perpendicular  to  the  horizon,  (a  case  which  sel- 
dom occurs,)  a  hundred  level  yards  shall  be  measured  on  either  side  of  the  vein, 
or  divided  on  both  sides,  as  the  miner  may  prefer. 

SEC.  5.  But  where  the  vein  is  in  an  inclined  direction,  which  is  the  most 
usual  case,  its  greater  or  less  degree  of  inclination  shall  be  attended  to  in  the 
following  manner. 

SEC,  6.  If  to  one  yard  perpendicular  the  inclination  be  from  three  fingers  to 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  261 

two  palms,  the  same  hundred  yards  shall  be  allowed  for  the  square,  (as  in  the 
case  of  the  vein  being  perpendicular.) 

SEC.  7.  If  to  the  said  perpendicular  yard  there  be  an  inclination  of — 

Two  palms  and  three  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  112J  yards. 

Two  palms  and  six  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  125  yards. 

Two  palms  and  nine  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  137|  yards. 

Three  palms,  the  squaie  shall  be  of  150  yards. 

Three  palms  and  three  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  162|  yards. 

Three  palms  and  six  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  175  yards. 

Three  palms  and  nine  fingers,  the  square  shall  be  of  187J  yards. 

Four  palms,  the  square  shall  be  of  200  yards. 

So  that  if  to  one  perpendicular  yard  there  correspond  an  inclination  of  four 
palms,  which  are  equal  to  a  yard,  the  miner  shall  be  allowe^1  two  hundred  yards 
on  the  square  on  the  declivity  of  the  vein,  and  so  on  with  the  rest. 

SEC.  8.  And  supposing  that  in  the  prescribed  manner  any  miner  should  reach 
the  perpendicular  depth  of  two  hundred  yards,  without  exceeding  the  limits  of 
his  portion,  by  which  he  may  commonly  have  much  exhausted  the  vein,  and 
that  those  veins  which  have  greater  inclination  than  yard  for  yard,  that  is  to 
say,  of  forty-five  degrees,  are  either  barren  or  of  little  extent,  it  is  my  sovereign 
will  that  although  the  declivity  may  be  greater  than  the  above-mentioned  mea- 
sures, no  one  shall  exceed  the  square  of  two  hundred  level  yards  ;  so  that  the 
same  shall  be  always  the  breadth  of  the  said  veins  extended  over  the  length  of 
the  other  two  hundreds,  as  declared  above. 

SEC.  9.  However,  if  any  mine  owner,  suspecting  a  vein  to  run  in  a  contrary 
direction  to  his  own,  (which  rarely  happens,)  should  choose  to  have  some  part 
of  his  square  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  of  his  principal  vein,  it  may  be 
granted  to  him,  provided  there  shall  be  no  injury  or  prejudice  to  a  third  person 
thereby. 

SEC.  10.  With  regard  to  the  banks,  beds,  or  any  other  accidental  depositories 
of  gold  or  silver,  I  ordain  that  the  portions  and  measures  shall  be  regulated  by 
the  respective  territorial  deputations  of  miners,  attention  being  paid  to  the  extent 
and  richness  of  the  place  and  to  the  number  of  applicants  for  the  same,  with 
distinction  and  preference  only  to  the  discoverers ;  but  the  said  deputations  must 
render  an  exact  account  thereof  to  the  royal  tribunal  general  of  Mexico,  who 
will  resolve  on  the  measures  which  they  in  their  judgment  may  consider  the 
most  efficacious,  in  order  to  avoid  all  unfair  dealing  in  tjjese  matters. 

SEC.  ll.'Tlie  portions  being  regulated  in  the  manner  described  above,  the 
denouncer  shall  have  his  share  measured  at  the  time  of  taking  possession  of  the 
mine,  and  he  shall  erect  around  his  boundaries  stakes  or  landmarks,  such  as 
shall  be  secure  and  easy  to  be  distinguished,  and  enter  into  an  obligation  to 
keep  and  observe  them  forever  without  being  able  to  change  them ;  though  he 
may  allege  that  his  vein  varied  in  course  or  direction,  (which  is  an  unlikely  cir- 
cumstance ;)  but  he  must  content  himself  with  the  lot  which  Providence  has 
decreed  him,  and  enjoy  it  without  disturbing  his  neighbors ;  if,  however,  he 
should  have  no  neighbors,  or  if  he  can,  without  injury  to  his  neighbors,  make 
an  improvement,  by  altering  the  stakes  and  boundaries,  it  may  be  permitted  him 
in  such  case,  with  previous  intervention,  cognizance,  and  authority  of  the  depu- 
tation of  the  district,  who  shall  cite  and  hear  the  parties,  and  determine  whether 
the  causes  for  such  encroachment  are  legitimate. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

SEC.  6.  If  any  mine  owner,  in  consequence  of  the  great  richness  of  the  me- 
tallic substance  in  his  vein,  is  desirous  of  substituting  for  the  pillars,  beams,  or 
sufficient  and  necessary  supports,  made  of  the  metallic  substance  itself,  others  - 


262  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

constructed  of  mason  work  of  stone  and  mortar,  lie  may  be  permitted  to  do  so, 
under  the  inspection  of  one  of  the  deputies  of  the  district,  assisted  by  his  clerk, 
and  with  the  approbation  of  the  mining  professor. 

SEC.  7.  I  strictly  prohibit  any  one  from  taking  away  or  in  any  degree  weak- 
ening and  diminishing  the  pillars,  beams,  and  necessary  supports  of  the  mines, 
under  pain  of  ten  years'  imprisonment,  to  be  inflicted  according  to  the  form  pre- 
scribed by  chapter  three  of  these  ordinances,  by  the*  respective  judge  in  each 
case,  upon  any  workman,  searcher,  or  investigator  who  shall  have  committed 
such  offence,  and  the  same  upon  the  miner  or  mine  watcher  who  has  permitted 
it ;  and  the  master  of  the  mine  shall  lose  the  same,  together  with  half  of  his 
property,  and  be  forever  excluded  from  all  mining  employments. 

SEC.  8.  I  ordain  and  command  that  the  mines  shall  be  kept  clean  and  unob- 
structed, and  that  the  works  necessary  or  useful  for  the  circulation  of  air,  the 
carriage  and  extraction  of  the  metal  or  other  purposes,  although  tljey  may  con- 
tain no  more  metallic  matter  than  such  as  may  remain  in  the  pillars  and  parti- 
tions, shall  not  be  encumbered  with  rubbish  and  clods  of  earth,  but  that  all  these 
must  be  carried  out  and  thrown  by  each  person  on  the  earth-mound  of  his  own 
property,  but  on  no  account  upon  that  of  another  person  without  his  express 
leave  and  consent. 

SEC.  9.  In  the  mines  there  must  be  proper  and  safe  steps  or  ladders,  such  and 
as  many  as  are  considered  necessary  by  the  mining  surveyor,  for  the  purpose 
of  ascending  and  descending  to  the  farthermost  works,  so  that  the  lives  of  persons 
employed  in  the  mines  may  never  be  endangered  by  their  being  weak,  insecure, 
rotten,  or  much  worn. 

SEC.  10.  In  order  to  avoid  the  violation  of  the  provisions  of  any  of  the  sections 
.contained  in  this  chapter,  it  is  my  sovereign  will  that  the  deputies  of  the  miners, 
accompanied  by  the  mining  professor  of  the  district,  and  by  the  clerk,  if  there 
be  one,  or,  in  default  of  him,  by  two  witnesses  in  aid,  who  shall  once  in  every  six 
months,  or  once  in  every  year,  in  places  where  the  former  is  impracticable,  visit 
all  the  mines  in  their  jurisdiction  which  are  in  a  course  of  actual  working;  and 
if  they  find  any  failure  in  the  points  referred  to  in  the  above-mentioned  sections, 
or  in  any  others  whatever,  which  regard  the  security,  preservation,  and  better 
working  of  the  mines,  shall  provide  immediately  a  remedy  for  such  defect,  and 
take  mtans  to  assure  themselves  that  such  remedy  is  carried  into  effect.  And 
if  the  remedy  be  not  applied,  or  if  the  same  failure  shall  occur  again,  the  proper 
penalties  must  be  exacted,  multiplying  and  aggravating  them  even  to  the  extent 
of  dispossessing  the  person  so  offending  of  the  mine,  which  shall  th£n  belong  to 
the  first  person  who  may  denounce  it,  provided  the  deputies  proceed  in  the  form 
prescribed  by  chapter  third  of  these  ordinances. 

SEC.  11.  I  most  rigorously  prohibit  all  persons  from  piercing  through  adits, 
or  cross  levels,  or  other  subterraneous  passages,  from  works  which  are  higher 
and  full  of  water,  or  from  leaving  between  them  and  others  such  slight  supports 
as  may  allow  the  water  to  burst  through  ;  on  the  contrary,  persons  owning  such, 
works  must  have  them  drained  by  engines  before  they  shall  attempt  to  commu- 
nicate with  new  ones,  unless  the  mining  professor  should  judge  that  such  piercing 
through  will  not  be  attended  with  danger  to  the  workmen  engaged  in  it. 

SEC.  12.  Also  I  prohibit  all  persons  from  introducing  workmen  into  any 
works  containing  noxious  vapors,  until  they  have  been  properly  ventilated,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  art. 

SEC.  13.  Whereas  the  mines  require  incessant  and  continual  working,  in 
order  to  procure  the  metals,  certain  operations  being  indispensable,  which  cannot 
without  much  time  be  accomplished,  and  which,  if  interrupted,  generally  require 
•  as  great  expenses  in  their  re-establishment  as  they  did  in  their  original  under- 
taking ;  wherefore,  to  remedy  such  inconvenience,  arid  also  to  prevent  masters 
^of  mines,  who  either  cannot  or  will  not  work  them,  from  keeping  them  in  a  use- 
•ess  state  for  a  length  of  time,  by  pretending  to  work  them,  and  thus  depriving 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  263 

them  of  the  real  and  effective  labor  which  others  might  bestow  on  them,  I  ordain 
and  command,  that  whosoever,  during  four  successive  months,  shall  fail  to  work 
any  mine  with  (at  least)  four  paid  workmen,  occupied  in  some  exterior"  or  inte 
rior  work  of  real  utility,  shall,  by  so  doing,  lose  all  his  right  in  said  mine,  which 
shall  belong  to  any  person  denouncing  it,  upon  his  satisfactory  proving,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  chapter  six,  such  act  of  desertion  on  the  part  of  the  owner. 

SEC.  14.  Experience  having  shown  that  the  provisions  of  the  preceding 
section  have  been  eluded  by  the  artful  and  fraudulent  practice  of  some  owners 
of  mines,  who  cause  their  mine  to  be  worked  during  some  days  in  each  [period 
ofj  four  months,  keeping  them  in  this  manner  many  years  in  their  possession,  I 
ordain  that  whosoever  shall  fail  to  work  his  mine  in  the  manner  prescribed  by 
the  said  section  during  eight  months  in  the  year,  counting  from  the  day  of  his 
coming  into  possession,  even  though  the  said  eight  months  should  be  interspersed 
with  some  days  or  weeks  of  labor,  shall  by  such  labor  forfeit  the  mine:  and  it 
shall  be  adjudged  to  the  first  person  who  denounces  the  same,  and  satisfactorily 
proves  this  second  species  of  desertion ;  unless  for  this,  or  the  one  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  section,  there  be  just  cause  assigned,  such  as  pestilence,  famine, 
or  war,  in  that  same  mining  place,  or  within  twenty  leagues  thereof. 

SEC.  15.  Considering  that  many  mine  owners  who  have  formerly  worked 
their  mines  with  ardor  and  diligence,  expending  large  sums  in  shafts,  adits,  and 
other  undertakings,  may  often  be  obliged  to  suspend  their  operations  while 
soliciting  supplies,  or  for  want  of  workmen,  or  necessary  provisions,  and  other 
just  and  sufficient  causes,  which,  combined  with  their  former  merit,  render  them 
worthy  of  equitable  consideration,  I  declare  that  any  such  mine  owner  keeping 
his  mine  in  disuse  in  the  manner  and  for  the  time  above  mentioned  shall  not 
forfeit,  it  at  once  in  the  manner  described  above,  but  his  mine  shall  nevertheless 
be  liable  to  denouncement  before  the  respective  new  tribunals  of  miners,  in  order 
that,  both  parties  having  been  heard,  and  alleged  merits  and  causes  considered 
and  proved,  justice  may  be  done  between  the  parties. 

SEC.  16.  Since  many  mine  owners  abandon  their  mines  either  for  the  want  of 
the  capital  necessary  for  carrying  on  operations  therein,  or  because  they  do  not 
choose  to  consume  that  which  they  may  have  already  acquired  from  them,  or 
because  they  have  not  spirit  to  venture  on  the  difficulties  of  those  undertakings, 
from  which  they  may  have  conceived  great  hopes,  or  for  other  causes,  and  since 
persons  are  not  wanting  who  might  be  desirous  of  taking  such  mines  if  they 
were  informed  of  their  intended  abandonment,  and  as  it  is  much  easier  to  main- 
tain a  mine  when  in  a  course  of  working  than  to  reinstate  it  after  it  has  suffered 
the  injuries  of  time,  it  is  my  will  that  no  person  shall  abandon  the  working  of 
his  mine  or  mines  without  making  the  deputation  of  the  district  acquainted 
therewith,  in  order  that  the  deputation  may  publish  the  same  by  fixing  a  notifi- 
cation on  the  doors  of  churches  and  other  customary  places  for  the  information 
of  all  persons. 

SEC.  17.  In  order  to  avoid  the  false  or  equivocal  reports  which  are  often 
spread  concerning  deserted  mines,  the  consequence  of  which  reports  is  to  aug- 
ment the  distrust  in  which  this  profession  is  ordinarily  held,  deterring  many 
persons  from  engaging  therein  who  do  not  otherwise  want  inclination  to  follow 
it,  I  ordain : 

SEC.  18.  That  no  one  shall  abandon  the  working  of  his  mine  without  giving 
notice  to  the  respective  deputation  in  order  that  an  inspection  may  immediately 
be  had  thereof  by  the  deputies,  accompanied  by  the  clerk  and  surveyors,  who 
must  examine  and  measure  the  mine,  particularizing  all  its  circumstances,  and 
draw  up  a  map  describing  its  plan  and  outlines,  which,  together  with  all  the 
necessary  information,  must  be  preserved  in  the  archives,  with  liberty  of  access 
to  all  persons  who  may  wish  to  see  it,  or  to  take  a  copy  thereof. 


264  EESOUECES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITOEIES 

CHAPTER   XI. 

SECTION  1.  Inasmuch  as  mines  are  often  worked  by  miners  joined  in  com- 
panies, from  the  time  of  the  denouncement  of  such  mine,  or  according  to  con- 
tracts entered  into  subsequently  in  various  ways,  to  the  great  advantage  and 
improvement  of  the  operations  in  mines,  since  it  is  much  easier  to  engage 
therein  when  many  persons  concur,  each  subscribing  a  part  of  his  capital ;  and 
as  where  the  wealth  of  one  alone  is  not  sufficient  for  great  undertakings,  that 
of  a  united  company  may  be  ample;  in  such  cases  I  desire  and  command  that 
such  companies,  whether  public  or  private,  may  be  encouraged,  promoted,  and 
protected  by  all  convenient  measures,  my  viceroy  granting  to  those  who  may 
form  themselves  into  such  companies  every  favor,  aid,  and  exemption  which  can 
be  granted  them,  according  to  the  judgment  and  discretion  of  the  royal  tribunal 
of  miners,  and  without  detriment  to  the  public  or  my  royal  treasury. 

SKC.  2.  Although  by  these  ordinances  I  prohibit  any  individual  mine-owners, 
working  within  the  ordinary  limits,  from  denouncing  two  adjoining  mines  on 
the  same  vein;  yet, notwithstanding,  to  those  who  work  in  companies,  although 
they  be  not  the  discoverers,  and  without  prejudice  to  the  right  which  they 
might  derive  from  becoming  discoverers,  I  grant  the  right  of  denouncing  four 
new  portions,  or  four  deserted  mines,  even  though  they  should  be  contiguous 
and  on  the  same  vein. 


SECTION    12. 

Books  on  California. — 2.   Table  of  distances. 


1.— BOOKS  ON  CALIFOENIAN  MINES. 

California  has  been  the  subject  'of  hundreds  of  books  written  since  the  dis- 
covery of  gold;  but  most  of  them  were  notes  of  personal  adventure,  with  a  few 
rambling  and  vague  remarks  about  the  mineral  resources  and  mining  industry 
of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Nevertheless,  although  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  works  published  about 
the  land  of  gold,  the  California!!  contributions  to  mining  literature  are  not  unim- 
portant; and  when  the  State  geological  survey  shall  have  completed  its  labors 
and  published  all  its  reports,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  few  countries  have  done 
so  much  in  so  brief  a  space  of  time  to  illustrate  the  metallurgy,  mineralogy, 
and  geology  of  the  precious  metals. 

The  following  are  titles  of  some  of  the  books  that  treat,  of  the  mineral  re- 
sources and  mining  industry  of  the  coast  : 

Geology  and  Industrial  Resources  of  California.  By  Philip  T.  Tyson.  To 
which  is  added  the  official  reports  of  General  Persifer  *F.  Smith  and  B.  Riley, 
including  the  reports  of  Lieutenants  Talbot,  Ord,  Derby,  and  Williamson,  of 
their  explorations  in  California  and  Oregon,  and  also  of  their  examination  of 
routes  for  railroad  communication  eastward  from  those  countries.  Baltimore : 
1851.  Svo.,  pp.  160. 

Professor  John  B.  Trask's  Report  on  the  Geology  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  or 
California  Range.  Document  No.  59,  Senate  of  California.  1853.  8vo., 
'pp.  30. 

Report  on  the  Geology  of  the  Coast  Mountains  and  part  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
embracing  the  Industrial  Resources  in  Agriculture  and  Mining.  By  John  B. 
Tragk.  Document  No.  9,  Senate  of  California.  1854.  Svo.,  pp.  90. 


WEST   OF   THE   EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  265 

Report  of  a  Geological  Reconnaissance  in  California,  made  in  connection  with 
the  expedition  to  survey  routes  in  California  to  connect  with  the  surveys  of 
routes  for  a  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Williamson,  corps  topographical  engineers,  in  1853. 
By  William  P,  Blake,  geologist  and  mineralogist  of  the  expedition.  New  York. 
H.  Bailliere,  185S.  4to,  pp.  600. 

Geology  of  North  America,  with  two  reports  on  the  Prairies  of  Arkansas  and 
Texas,  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  New  Mexico,  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  Cali- 
fornia, originally  made  for  the  United  States  government  by  Jules  Marcon. 
Zurich,  1^58.  4to,  pp.  144. 

General  Report  upon  the  Geological  Collections  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Survey, 
by  William  P.  Blake,  geologist  of  the  office  of  the  United  States  Pacific  rail- 
road explorations  and  surveys.  4to  ,  pp.  50.  (In  vol.  iii  of  Explorations  and 
Surveys  for  a  Railroad  Route  from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.) 

Report  upon  the  Geology  of  the  Route  from  San  Francisco  Bay  to  the  Colum- 
bia River,  by  J.  S.  Newberry,  M.  D.,  geologist  and  botanist  of  the  expedition. 
4to.,  pp.  84.  (In  vol.  vi  of  Explorations,  &c.,  as  above.) 

Geological  Report  on  the  Route  from  San  Francisco  to  Santa  Fe,  by  way  of 
the  Coast  and  the  Gila,  by  Thomas  Antisell,  M.  D.,  geologist  of  the  expedition. 
4to.,  pp.  204.  (In  vol.  vii  of  Explorations,  &c.,  as  above.) 

Mining  on  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America,  by  John  S.  Hittell.  San 
Francisco,  1861.  18mo.,  pp.  224. 

The  Resources  of  California,  comprising  agriculture,  mining,  geology,  climate, 
commerce,  &c.,  and  the  past  and  future  development  of  the  State,  by  John  S. 
Hittell ;  second  edition,  with  an  appendix  on  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory. 
San  Francisco,  1866.  12mo.,  pp.  494. 

The  Comstock  Lode,  its  character,  and  the  probable  mode  of  its  continuance 
in  depth,  by  Ferdinand  Baron  Richthofen,  (Dr.  Phil.)  San  Francisco,  1866. 
8vo,  pp.  83. 

Nevada  and  California  Processes  of  Silver  and  Gold  Extraction,  for  general  use, 
and  especially  for  the  mining  public  of  California  and  Nevada,  with  full  expla- 
nations and  directions  for  all  metallurgical  operations  connected  with  silver  and 
gold,  from  a  preliminary  examination  of  the  ore  to  the  final  casting  of  the  ingot ; 
also  a  description  of  the  general  metallurgy  of  silver  ores.  By  Guido  Kustel, 
mining  engineer  and  metallurgist,  former  manager  of  the  Ophir  works,  &c.  Illus- 
trated by  accurate  engravings.  San  Francisco,  1863.  8vo,  pp.  330. 


266 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 
2.-TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


FROM  SAN  FRANCISCO. 
BY  OCEAN;  NAUTICAL  MILES. 
Up  the  coast. 
Tomales,  Cal  45 

Northern  towns. 
Sacramento  

Miles. 
117 
171 
236 
197 
264 
365 
401 
4-63 
710 
760 
850 
138 
182 

165 
253 
420 
784 
1,  035 
1,  975 
2,279 
3,417 

117 
153 
178 
198 
197 
211 
247 
308 

31 
51 
94 
130 
234 
344 
444 
576 

504 
732 
1,013 
1,306 

2,881 

HENTO. 

2 
4        6 

H      7* 

5    m 

2      141 
4      18* 
6i    25 
5      30 
1      31 
3      34 
1      35 
3      38 
1      39 
2      41 
5*    46* 
2*    49 
2      51 
4      55 
3      58 
6      62 
1      63 

Miles. 
End  of  Wood  Island  5        68 
Rio  Vista                                  5        73 

Cache  creek                            1        84 

Downieville  

F<-£?s  Back                               4         78 

Oroville  

Mouth  of  Steambo't  slough    6        84 
Head  of  Steamboat  slough    6        90 
Head  of  Randall's  island..     6        96 

Red  Bluff 

Mendocino  City  Cal                     1°8 

Humboldt  bay,  Cal         .     .        223 

Treka 

Trinidad,  Cal  239 

Jacksonville,  Oregon  

Embarcadero                          8      109 

Crescent  City   Cal                        280 

Sutterville                               9      118 

Port  Orford,  Oregon  338 

Portland   Oregon 

Sacramento                             3      121 

TJmpqua  river,  Oregon  402 
Columbia  river,  Oregon  550 
Astoria    Oregon                            559 

Olympia  W  T 

SAN  FRANCISCO  TO  SAN  DIEGO. 
Via  coast  road. 

San  Francisco  to  — 
San  Mat^o  .           21 

Folsom  . 

Portland   Oregon  642 

Oveiland  route. 
Placerville  

Varcouver  W   T                          632 

Cape  Flattery  W  T           .        683 

Port  Angeles,  W.  T  738 

Port  Townsend,  W.  T  773 
Seattle,  W.  T  807 

Carson  City    N*  T 

Redwood  City                       10        31 

Steilacoom   "VV   T                          836 

Humboldt  mines,  N.  T  
Great  Salt  Lake  City  
South  Pass 

San  Jose                                19        50 

Olympia,  W.  T...     .                    855 

Gilroy                                    32        82 

San  Juan  island,  W.  T  765 
Bellingham  bay,  W.  T  798 
Victoria,  V.  1  753 

San  Juan                               12        94 

St.  Joseph,  Mo  

St  Louis   Mo 

Monterey  36      130 

San  Antonio                          75      205 

New  Westminster,  B.  C  .  .  .  .        823 
Down  the  coast. 
Half  Moon  bay,  Cal  46 

New  York  City  

San  Luis  Obispo  43      248 

Southern  towns. 
Stockton  

Santa  Inez  68      316 

Santa  Barbara                       42      358 

San  Buenaventura  30      388 

Los  Angeles                          100      488 

Santa  Cruz    Gal                              80 

San  Gabriel  ranch                10      498 

Monterey,  Cal  92 

Mokelurnne  Hill 

Anaheim                                15      513 

San  Luis  Obispo    Cal                   200 

Big  Trees 

Aliso  ranch                            22      535 

Point  Conception  Cal                   250 

Santa  Barbara,  Cal  283 

Mariposa          .  .           .... 

San  Mateo  ranch         .         11      553 

San  Pedro,  Cal                              373 

Los  Flores                             11      564 

San  Diego  Gal  456 

Visalia 

San  Luis  Rey                        10      574 

La  Paz,  Mexico  1,  305 

Coast  road. 
Redwood  City 

Los  Encinitas     18      592 

Mazatlan,  Mexico     .                  1  480 

Soled&d  ranch                       15      607 

Guaymas,  Mexico  1,710 

San  Diego.                        ..  15      622 

San  Bias,  Mexico                       1  470 

SACRAMENTO  TO  RED  BLUFF. 
Via  Sacramento  river. 
Sacramento  to  — 

Manzanilla,  Mexico..     .          1  570 

Acapulco  Mexico                      1  840 

Panama,  C   A            .                3  280 

Callao,  Peru  3  900 

San  Luis  Obispo  

Valparaiso   Chili                        5  210 

Cape  Horn  6'  380 

Via  Panama. 
New  Orleans                             4  680 

San  Diego 

Butlerfield  route. 

Fremont                                 14        26 

Charleston             10        36 

Knight's  landing                   10        46 

New  York  .....                         5  140 

Eagle  Bend           8        54 

Southampton                              7  800 

Old  Eagle  Bend                       5        59 

Via  Cape  Horn. 
Rio  Janeiro                                8  323 

Three  Rivers                5        64 

Poker  Bend                            5        69 

St.  Louis,  via  Arizona  

SAN  FRANCISCO  TO  SACRA1 
By  steamer. 

San  Francisco  to  — 
Opposite  Alcatraz  island. 
South  end  Angel  island.. 
North  end  Angel  island.. 
Red  Rock 

Howell's  .                      5        74 

Big  Eddy                                 5        79 

New  York  13'  140 

Dry  Slough                         '    8        87 

Liverpool                                 13*  100 

Eddy's                                      8        95 

Across  the  ocean. 
Honolulu,  H.  1  2  100 

Twenty-Mile  island              10      105 

Font's  ferry                ....     7      112 

Butte  creek                             6      118 

Colusa                                 .     7      125 

Jeddo,  via  HI                          5  550 

Sherman's                                7      132 

Shanghai,  via  H.  I  6*450 

Snyder's                              .     4      136 

Hongkong,  via  HI                  6  980 

Nine-Mile  house                     5      141 

Sydney,  via  H.  I                        6  720 

Melbourne,  via  H.  I  7,  200 

Brothers  

Princeton                   5      151 

Calcutta,  via  HI                   10  400 

Pinola 

Butte  City                               7      158 

INLAND  ;   STATUTE  MILES. 

Vicinity  of  San  Francisco  bay. 
SanQuentin  12 

Mouth  of  Straits 

Cut  Off                               -     7      165 

Benieia 

Pike's                                       5-     170 

Navy  Point 

Plaza  City                               9      179 

Point  Edith 

Jennings                                  9      188 

Seal  Isluid 

Monroeville                             3      191 

Point  Gillespie  

Big  Chico       8      199 

Petaluma                                        48 

Point  Roe 

BidwelFs                                  6      205 

Geyser  Springs.                    .        105 

Snag  Point  

Soule  Landing  7      212 

Vallejo                                               28 

New  York  Slough  
Point  Hanson  

Snadon's                                  8      220 

Napa  City                             .          50 

Gazelle  shoot       6      220 

White  Sulphur  Springs  ....          67 
Benicia      .                                        30 

Moon's                                      6      232 

Tree  island  

Mayhew's          8      246 

Suisun                                               50 

Tehaaia                            -  -     8      240 

Martinez             .                               33 

Sacket  Hog  Bend 

Doll's  ranch  11      25!) 

Diablo  coal  mines  .  .                      44 

San  Joaauin  Slouerh.  .  . 

Red  Bluff...                    .-  11      278 

WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


267 


SACRAMENTO  TO  VIRGINIA  CITY. 


Via  Dutch  Flat. 


Sacramento  to — 

Auburn 

Iliinoistown 

Dutch  Flat 

Wilson's  ranch 

Summit  valley 

Donner  Cabins 

O'Neal's  bridge 

Steamboat  Springs 
Virginia  City 


Miles. 
40 

18      58 
12      70 

14  84 
16    100 

9    109 
2L     130 

15  145 
12    157 


Via  Henness  Pass. 


Sacramento  to  — 

Colfax  ......................  55 

Madden  's  ...................  61 

Dutch  Flat  ..................  69 

Zeus  ........................  781 

Polly's...  ...................  89| 

Jones's  ......................  100 

Donner  lake  ................  110 

Prosser  creek  ...............  120J 

Chamberlin's  ................  128! 

Brown's  ....................  135i 

Hunter's  ....................  145* 

Virginia  City  ................  157i 

Virginia  City    to    the    Hum- 

boldt  mines  ...............  150 

Virginia  City  to  Aurora  ......  116 

SACRAMENTO  TO  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 
Via  Austin,  (Reese  river,)  Nevada. 

Sacramento  to  — 

Folsom  ..................  22 

Latrobe  ..................  15  37 

Shingle  Springs  ..........     8  45 

Placerville  ...............     8  53 

Sportsman's  Hall  .........  11  64 

Riverside  station  .........  10  74 

Webster's  ................     9  83 

Strawberry  ralley  .......  11  94 

Summit  ..................     3  97 

Yank's  ...................     8  105 

iakeTahoe  ..............     9  114 

Genoa  ...................  10  124 

Carson  City  ..............  14  138 

Virginia  City  .............  16  154 

First  well  ................  13  167 

Second  well  ..............     7  174 

Third  well  ...............  12  186 

Eighteen-Mile  post  ........     8  194 

Ragtown  .................  12  206 

Slough  bridge  ............  16  222 

Sand  Springs  .............  16  238 

WestGate  ...............  22  260 

Cold  Springs  .............  14  274 

Edward's  creek  ...........  12  286 

Mount  Airy  ..............  15  301 

Jacobsville  ...............  13  314 

Austin  ...................     6  320 

Simpson's  park  ...........  16  336 

Dry  creek  ................  21  357 

Robert's  creek  ............  29  386 

Diamond  Springs  .........  25  411 

Ruby  valley  .............  24  435 

Butte  station  .............  39  454 

Shell  creek  ...............  30  484 

Antelope  Springs  .........  19  503 

Deep  creek  ..............  24  527 

Willow  Springs  ..........  42  569 

Fish  Springs  .............  21  590 

Simpson's  S  p  rings  ........  39  629 

Rush  valley  ..............  23  652 

-Fort  Crittenden  ..........  17  669 

Great  Salt  Lake  City  .....  41  710 

SACRAMENTO  TO  PORTLAND. 

Sacramento  to  — 

Nicolaus  .................  25 

Marysville  ...............  20  45 


2.  —  Table  of  distances  —  Continu 
Miles. 

Oroville  .................  26  71 

Chico  ...................  26  97 

T.'hama  ................  26  123 

RedBluff  ...............  13  136 

Horsetown  ..............  2!)  165 

Shasta  ..................     8  173 

French  gulch  ............  15  188 

Trinity  Centre  ..........  27  215 

New  York  house  ........  14  229 

Callahan's  ...............  13  242 

FortJones  ..............  22  264 

Yreka  ..................  18  282 

Henly  .......  .*  .........  20  302 

Mountain  house  .........  17  319 

Jacksonville  ............  23  342 

Grave  creek  .............  41  383 

Cany  onville  .............  26  409 

Roseberg  ...............  26  435 

Oakland  ................  17  452 

Hawley's  ...............  30  482 

Eugene  City  ............  25  507 

Corvallis  ................  39  546 

Albany  .................  10  556 

Salem  ..................  24  580 

Oregon  City  .............  37  617 

Portland  .......               ..  13  630 


ed. 


STOCKTON  TO  VISALIA  ANI> 
OWEN'S  VALLEY. 

Stockton  to— 

Heath  &  Emory's 28 

Dickinson's  ferry 21  49 

Snelling 13  62 

Hornitos 16  78 

Chowchilla 25  103 

Fresno 16  119 

Millerton 15  134 

King's  river 25  159 

Visalia 28  187 

Tule  river 25  212 

Deercreek 8  220 

White  river 15  235 

Linn's  valley 9  244 

Kern  river 20  264 

Walker's  Pass 25  289 

Littlelake 30  319 

Owen's  lake 35  354 

San  Carlos 41  395 

LOS  ANGELES  TO  LA  PAZ, 
ARIZONA. 

Los  Angeles  to — 

San  Gabriel 12 

ElMonte 2  14 

San  Jose 12  26 

Cocomungo 12  38 

San  Bernardino 25  63 

Old  S.  B.  mission 8  7L 

Frink's 7  78 

Dr.  Edgar's 8  86 

Chapin's  ranch 6  92 

Antonio  creek 4  96 

Grant's  creek 3  99 

Indian  run 5  104 

White  river 2  106 

AguaCaliente 10  116 

Sand  Hole 11  127 

Old  rancheria 6  133 

Toro's 9  142 

Martinez 5  147 

Palma  Seco 12  159 

Dos  Palmos 7  166 

Brown's  Pass 10  176 

Tabasacco ^- 8  184 

Chucolwalla...^. 18  202 

Slough 35  237 

LaPaz ..  16  253 


La  Paz  to  Fort  Mohave 140 

La  Paz  to  Walker's  diggings  146 

La  Paz  to  Pimo  villages 200 

La  Paz  to  Tucson 280 

La  Paz  to  El  Dorado  canon.  190 


PORTLAND  TO  LEWISTON. 


Portland  to—  Mile?. 

Lower  Cascades 50 

Portage 5  55 

Dalles 38  93 

Celilo 13  106 

Five-Mile  rapids 5  111 

John  Day 11  122 

Indian  rapids 3  125 

Squally  Hook 3  128 

Rock  creek 7  135 

Chapman's  woodyard 6  141 

Big  Bend 6  147 

Willow  creek 9  156 

Castle  Rock 8  164 

Long  island  (foot) 5  169 

Long  island  (head) 7  176 

Grand  Ronde  lauding 10  186 

Umatilla  rapids 8  194 

Windmill  rock 7  201 

Wallula 15  216 

Snake  river  (mouth) 11  227 

Rapids 6  233 

Fish  Bend 10  243 

Jim  Part's  island 10  253 

Pine  Tree  rapids 7  260 

Pelouse  crossing .30  290 

Fort  Taylor 5  295 

Penana  creek 25  320 

Almotacreek 14  334 

Alpowa  creek 26  360 

Smith's  ferry 3  363 

Lewiston 7  370 

DALLES  TO  LEWISTON. 

Dalles  to — 

Deschutes 15 

Mud  Springs 12  27 

John  Day's  river 12  39 

Juniper  spring 12  51 

Willow  creek 18  69 

Well's  spring 16  85 

Buttercreek 18  103 

Umatilla  river 9  112 

Umatilla  crossing 18  130 

Wild  Horse  creek 18  148 

Walla-Walla 20  168 

Drycreek 7  175 

Reedcreek 15  190 

Tucanon v 17  207 

Patapha 11  218 

Alpowa 14  232 

Smith's  ranch 8  240 

Craig's  ferry 9  249 

Lewiston...               1  250 


Lewiston  to  Pierce  City 90 

Lewiston  to  Elk  City 145 

Lewiston  to  Florence .'  110 

Lewiston  to  Idaho  City 190 

DALLES  TO  IDAHO  CITY. 

Via  John  Day  mines. 

Dalles  to— 

Fifteen-Mile  creek 12 

Todd'sbridge 10  22 

Salt  spring 8  30 

Bake  Oven  hollow 14  44 

Thorn  hollow 6  50 

Antelope  valley 12  62 

Potatohills 10  72 

Pyramid  rocks 4  76 

Cherry  creek 10  86 

Bridge  creek 1 

Foot  of  mountain 11  104 

Rock  creek 12  116 

John  Day 17  133 

South  Fork.., 7  140 

CanyonCity 35  175 

Dixiecreek 11  186 

Burnt  river 35  221 

Malheur  river 18  240 

Emigrantroad 20  260 


268 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 


2. —  Table  of  distances — Continued. 


Old  Fort  Boise 

Miles. 
16    276 

St.  Joseph  river  crossing. 
Coeur  d'  Alene  river  
Coeur  d'Aleue  crossing... 
Coaur  d'Alene  mission.  ... 
Three-Mile  prairie  

Miles. 
5    169 
11    180 
11    191 
8    199 
4    203 
5    208 
20    228 
8    236 
5    241 
9    250 
13    263 
10    273 
10    283 
13    296 
8    304 
6    310 
9    319 
9    328 
4    332 
6    338 
13    351 
12    363 
5    368 
25    393 
7    400 
11    411 
13    424 

Boise  City. 

25    301 

Idaho  City  

..  29     330 

WALLA-WALLA  TO  FORT  BENSON. 
Via  Mullan's  military  road. 

Walla-  Walla  to- 
Dry  Creek                                         Q 

Ten-Mile  prairie  
Johnson's  Cut-off  

Summit  Steven's  pass  
St.  Regis  Borgia  river  

Touchet 

11      20 

Prairie                   .. 

15      35 

Bitter  Root  crossing  
Prairie 

Tucanon 

.  12      47 

Snake  river  

.  .  .     3      50 

Brown's  prairie  

15      65 

First  cross-ing  

.  .     4      69 

West  foot  of  mountain  .  .  . 
Point  of  Rocks 

4      73 

Third  crossing     

.     2      75 

Fourth  crossing  

...2      77 

Kulkullo  creek         

Mocalissia      

7      84 

Hell  Gate  Ronde 

Oratayouse  

...13      97 

Observatory  creek 

Tcho-tcho-oo-seep 

15    112 

Big  Blackfoot  river 

Ciel-ciel-pow-vet-sin  

.  ..     9    121 

Hell  Gate  river,  1st  cross'g 
HellGateriver,llth  cross'g 
Creek 

Camas  Prairie  creek 

17    138 

Loochooltz 

12    150 

luchatzkan  spring  

.  .  .     8    158 

Flint  creek. 

Poun  Lake  bridge  .  .  . 

.     6    164 

Gold  creek  .  . 

Miles. 

Rock  creek 7  431 

Deer  Lodge  creek 8  439 

Livingston's  creek 9  448 

Little  Blackfoot  river 8  456 

Mullan's  Pass 13  469 

Great  Prickly  Pear 4  473 

Silver  creek 6  479 

Little  Prickly.  Pear 16  495 

Medicine  Rock 3  498 

L.  P.  P.  Upper  Camp 7  505 

LEWISTON  TO  KOOTENAI  MINES. 

Lewiston  to — 

Palouse  crossing 40 

Pine  creek 10  50 

Lottow 7  57 

Forks  of  trail 2  59 

Willow  prairie 5  64 

Rockcreek 10  74 

Spokane  River  ferry 15  89 

Soltesa's 6  95 

Pen  d'Oreille  slough 23  118 

Pen  d'Oreille  crossing 24  142 

Big  bend  of  lake: 15  157 

Kootenai  crossing 50  207 

Elkcreek 123  330 


APPENDIX   1. 

Address  on  the  history  of  California,  from  the  discovery  of  the  country  to  the 
year  1849,  delivered  before  the  Society  of  California  Pioneers,  at  their  cele- 
bration of  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the  admission  of  the  State  of  California 
into  the  Union.  By  Edmund  Randolph,  esq.  San  Francisco,  Sept.  10, 1860. 

PIONEERS  :  From  the  importunities  of  the  active  present  which  surrounds  us, 
we  turn  for  a  brief  space  to  the  past.  To-day  we  give  ourselves  up  to  memory. 

And,  first,  our  thoughts  are  due  to  those  who  are  not  here  assembled  with 
us;  whom  we  meet  not  on  street  nor  highway,  and  welcome  not  again  at  the 
door  of  our  dwellings  ;  upon  whom  shines  no  mere  the  sun  which  now  gladdens 
the  hills,  the  plains,  the  waters  of  California — to  the  pioneers  who  are  dead. 
To  them,  as  the  laurel  to  the  soldier  who  falls  in  the  battle  for  that  with  his  blood 
he  has  paid  the  price  of  victory,  you  will  award  the  honor  of  this  triumph, 
marked  by  the  marvellous  creations  which  have  sprung  from  your  common  en- 
terprises. To  them  you  will  consecrate  a  success  which  has  surpassed  the  bold- 
est of  the  imaginations  which  led  you  forth,  both  them  and  you,  to  a  life  of  ad- 
ventures. Your  companions  died  that  California  might  exist.  Fear  not  that 
you  will  honor  them  overmuch.  But  how  died  they,  and  where  do  they  repose — 
the  dead  of  the  pioneers  of  California? 

Old  men  amongst  you  will  recall  the  rugged  trapper.  His  frame  was  strong; 
his  soul  courageous ;  his  knowledge  was  of  the  Indian's  trail  and  haunts  of 
game;  his  wealth  and  defence,  a  rifle  and  a  horse;  his  bed,  the  earth;  his  home, 
the  mountains.  He  was  slain  by  the  treacherous  savage.  His  scalp  adorned 
the  wigwam  of  a  chief.  The  wolf  and  the  vulture  in  the  desert  feasted  on  the 
body  of  this  pioneer.  A  companion,  wounded,  unarmed,  and  famishing,  wan- 
ders out  through  some  rocky  canon  and  lives  to  recount  this  tale — lives,  more 
fortunate  in  his  declining  years,  to  measure,  perhaps,  his  lands  by  the  league, 
and  to  number  his  cattle  by  the  thousand.  And  the  sea,  too,  has  claimed  trib- 
ute ;  the  remorseless  waves,  amid  the  terrors  of  shipwreck,  too  often  in  these 
latter  days  have  closed  over  the  manly  form  of  the  noble  pioneer.  The  mon- 
sters of  the  deep  have  parted  amongst  them  the  flesh  of  our  friends,  and  their 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  269 

dissevered  members  are  floating,  suspended  now  in  the  vast  abysses  of  the  ocean, 
or  roll  upon  distant  strands,  playthings  tossed  by  the  currents  in  their  wander- 
ings. And  here,  in  San  Francisco,  exacting  commerce  has  disturbed  the  last 
resting  place  of  the  pioneers.  Ten  years  and  a  half  ago,  pinched  by  the  severi- 
ties of  a  most  inclement  winter,  under  the  leaky  tent  which  gave  no  shelter, 
they  sickened  and  died  (and  then  women  and  children  were  pioneers,  too)  by 
scores,  and  by  hundreds  they  sickened  and  died.  With  friendly  hands,  which 
under  such  disastrous  circumstances  could  minister  no  relief,  you  yet  did  bury 
them  piously  in  a  secluded  spot  upon  the  hill-side  or  in  the  valley,  and,  planting 
a  rude  cross  or  board  to  mark  the  grave,  did  hope,  perhaps,  in  a  more  prosper- 
ous day,  to  replace  it  with  a  token  in  enauring  stone.  But  the  hill  and  the  valley 
alike  disappear  hourly  from  our  sight.  The  city  marches  with  tremendous 
strides.  Extending  streets  and  lengthening  rows  encroach  upon  the  simple 
burial-ground  not  wisely  chosen.  The  dead  give  place  to  the  living.  And  now 
the  builder,  with  his  mortar  and  his  bricks,  and  the  din  of  his  trowel,  erects  a 
mansion  or  store-house  for  the  new  citizen  upon  the  same  spot  where  the  pioneer 
was  laid  and  his  sorrowing  friend  dreamed  of  erecting  a  tombstone.  Meanwhile, 
by  virtue  of  a  municipal  order,  hirelings  have  dug  up  and  carted  away  all  that 
remained  of  the  pioneers,  and  have  deposited  them  in  some  common  receptacle, 
where  now  they  are  lying  an  undistinguishable  heap  of  human  bones. 

Pursuing  still  this  sad  review,  you  well  remember  how,  with  the  eager  tide 
along  and  up  the  course  of  rivers,  and  over  many  a  stony  ascent,  you  were 
swept  into  the  heart  of  the  difficult  regions  of  the  gold  mines ;  how  you  there 
encountered  an  equal  stream  pouring  in  from  the  east ;  and,  in  a  summer,  all 
the  bars,  and  flats,  and  gulches,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  that  vast 
tract  of  hills,  were  flooded  with  human  life.  Into  that  rich  harvest  Death  put 
his  sickle.  Toil  to  those  who  had  n%ver  toiled ;  toil,  the  hardest  toil,  often  at 
once  beneath  a  torrid,  blazing  sun,  and  in  an  icy  stream ;  congestion,  typhus, 
fevers  in  whatever  form  most  fatal ;  and  the  rot  of  scurvy ;  drunkenness  and 
violence,  despair,  suicide,  and  madness ;  the  desolate  cabin ;  houseless  starva- 
tion amid  snows  :  all  these  bring  back  again  upon  you  in  a  frightful  picture 
many  a  death-scene  of  those  days.  There  fell  the  pioneers  who  perished  from 
the  van  of  those  who  first  heaved  back  the  bolts  that  barred  the  vaulted  hills, 
and  poured  the  millions  of  the  treasures  of  California  upon  the  world ! 

Wan  and  emaciated  from  the  door  of  the  tent  or  cabin  where  you  saw  him 
expire;  bloody  and  mangled  from  the  gambling  saloon  where  you  saw  him 
murdered,  or  the  roadside  where  you  found  him  lying ;  the  corpse  you  bore  to 
the  woods  and  buried  him  beneath  the  trees.  But  you  cannot  tell  to-day  which 
pine  sings  the  requiem  of  the  pioneer. 

And  some  have  fallen  in  battle  beneath  our  country's  flag. 

And  longings  still  unsatisfied  led  soine  to  renew  their  adventurous  career 
upon  foreign  soils.  Combating  for  strangers  whose  quarrels  they  espoused,  they 
fell  amid  the  jungles  of  the  tropics  and  fatted  that  rank  soil  there  with  right 
precious  blood  ;  or,  upon  the  sands  of  an  accursed  waste,  were  bound  and 
slaughtered  by  inhuman  men  who  lured  them  with  promises  and  repaid  their 
coming  with  a  most  cruel  assassination.  In  the  filthy  purlieus  of  a  Mexican 
village  swine  fed  upon  all  that  murder  left  of  honored  gentlemen,  until  the  very 
Indian,  with  a  touch  of  pity,  heaped  up  the  sand  upon  the  festering  dead,  and 
gave  slight  sepulture  to  our  lost  pioneers. 

Though  from  the  first  some  there  were  who  found  in  California  all  they 
sought;  and  as  they  lived  so  died,  surrounded  by  their  children  and  their 
newly  made  friends,  and  were  buried  in  churchyards  with  holy  rites ;  and  al- 
though those  more  lately  stricken  repose  in  well-fenced  grounds,  guarded  by 
society  they  planted,  and  whose  ripening  power  they  have  witnessed,  and  are 
gathered  to  a  sacred  stillness,  where  we  too  may  hope  that  we  shall  be  received 


270  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

when  full  soon  we  sink  to  our  eternal  rest.  Alas  !  far  different  the  death  and 
burial  of  full  many  a  pioneer. 

In  deeds  of  loftiest  daring  of  individual  man,  encounters  fierce  and  rudest 
shocks,  too  often  has  parted  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer,. and  left  his  mortal  body- 
to  nature  and  the  elements.  Thus  wilds  are  conquered,  and  to  civilization  new 
realms  are  won. 

Upon  his  life  and  death  let  them  reflect  who  would  deny  to  the  pioneer  the 
full  measure  of  the  rights  of  freemen. 

For  us  we  behold  the  river  or  the  rock,  the  mountain's  peak,  the  plain — 
whatever  spot  from  which  his  eyes  took  their  last  look  of  earth.  There,  as  he 
lies,  one  gentle  light  shining  athwart  the  gathering  darkness,  still  holds  his 
gaze.  Guided  by  that  light  we  will  revisit  the  distant  home  of  the  dying  pio- 
neer. In  imagination  we  will  there  revive  the  faded  recollections  of  the  in- 
trepid boy  who,  in  years  long  past,  disappeared  in  the  wilderness  and  the  west, 
and  for  a  lifetime  has  been  accounted  dead.  We  will  renew,  while  we  console, 
the  grief  of  the  aged  father  and  mother.  To  the  fresh  sorrows  of  the  faithful 
wife  we  pledge  the  sympathy  and  love  of  brothers.  To  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  our  friends  we  stretch  forth  our  hands  in  benedictions  on  their  heads.  To 
ancient  friends  we  too  are  friends,  until  with  our  praises,  and  the  eventful  story 
of  his  life,  we  make  to  live  again  in  his  old  peaceful  home  him  who  died  so 
wildly.  What  though,  to  mournful  questioning,  we  cannot  point  their  graves  ] 
They  have  a  monument — behold  the  State ;  and  their  inscription,  it  is  written 
on  our  hearts. 

Thus,  as  is  meet,  we  honor  our  dead  pioneers  with  severe  yet  pleasing  recol- 
lections, grateful  fancies,  and  tears  not  unmanly.  With  an  effort  we  turn  from 
ourselves  to  our  country. 

Of  populous  Christian  countries  Upper  California  is  among  the  newest.  Her 
whole  history  is  embraced  within  the  lifetime  of  men  now  living.  Just  ninety- 
one  years  have  passed  since  man  of  European  origin  first  planted  his  footsteps 
within  the  limits  of  what  is  now  our  State,  with  purpose  of  permanent  inhabita- 
tion. Hence  all  the  inhabitants  of  California  have  been  but  pioneers. 

Cortez,  about  the  year  1537,  fitted  out  several  small  vessels  at  his  port  of  Te- 
huantepec,  sailed  north  and  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California.  It  is  said 
that  his  vessels  were  provided  with  everything  requisite  for  planting  a  colony 
in  the  newly  discovered  region,  and  transported  four  hundred  Spaniards  and 
three  hundred  negro  slaves,  which  he  had  assembled  for  that  purpose,  and  that 
he  imagined  by  that  coast  and  sea  to  discover  another  New  Spain.  But  sands 
and  rocks  and  sterile  mountains,  a  parched  and  thorny  waste,  vanquished  the 
conqueror  of  Mexico.  He  was  glad  to  escape  with  his  life,  and  never  crossed 
the  line  which  marks  our  southern  boundary.  Here  We  may  note  a  very  re- 
markable event  which  happened  in  the  same  year  that  Cortez  was  making  his 
fruitless  attempt.  Four  persons,  Alvar  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  Castillo,  Dor- 
antes,  and  a  negro  named  Estevancio,  arrived  at  Culiacan,  on  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia, from  the  peninsula  of  Florida.  They  were  the  sole  survivors  of  three 
hundred  Spaniards  who  landed  with  Pamfilo  Narvaez  on  the  coast  of  Florida 
for  the  conquest  of  that  country,  in  the  year  1527.  They  had  wandered  ten 
years  among  the  savages,  and  had  finally  found  their  way  across  the  continent. 
The  same  Nunez  was  afterwards  appointed  to  conduct  the  discovery  of  the  Rio 
de  la  Plata,  and  the  first  conquests  of  Paraguay,  says  our  authority,  the  learned 
Jesuit  Father  Miguel  Venegas. 

The  viceroy  Mendoza,  soon  after  the  failure  of  Cortez,  despatched  another 
expedition,  by  sea  and  land,  in  the  same  direction,  but  accomplished  still  less  ; 
and  again  in  1542,  the  same  viceroy  sent  out  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  a  coura- 
geous Portuguese,  with  two  ships  to  survey  the  outward  or  western  coast  of 
California.  Ln  the  latitude  of  32  degrees  he  made  a  cape  which  was  called,  by 
himself,  I  suppose,  Cape  Engano,  (Deceit;)  in  33  degrees,  that  of  La  Cruz,  and 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  271 

that  of  Galera,  in  36|  degrees,  and  opposite  the  last  he  met  with  two  large 
islands,  where  they  informed  him  that  at  some  distance  there  was  a  nation  who 
wore  clothes.  In  37  degrees  and  a  half  he  had  sight  of  some  hills  covered  with 
trees,  which  he  called  San  Martin,  as  he  did  also  the  cape  running  into  the  sea 
at  the  end  of  these  eminences.  Beyond  this  to  40  degrees  the  coast  lies  NE. 
and  SW.,  and  about  the  40th  degree  he  saw  two  mountains  covered  with  snow, 
and  between  them  a  large  cape,  which,  in  honor  of  the  viceroy,  he  called  Men- 
do.ciua.  The  headland,  therefore,  according  to  Venegas,  was  christened  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  years  ago.  Cabrillo  continued  his  voyage  to  the  north  in 
midwinter,  and  reached  the  44th  degree  of  latitude  on  the  10th  of  March,  1543. 
From  this  point  he  was  compelled  by  want  of  provisions  and  the  bad  condition 
of  his  ehips  to  return,  and  on  the  14th  of  April  he  entered  the  harbor  of  Nativi- 
dad,  from  which  he  had  sailed. 

In  1578,  at  midsummer,  Sir  Francis  Drake  landed  upon  this  coast,  only  a 
few  miles  northward  from  this  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  at  a  bay  which  still 
bears  his  name.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  not  yet  sailed  on  his  first  voyage  to  Vir- 
ginia. It  will  be  interesting  to  know  how  things  looked  in  this  country  at  that 
time.  After  telling  us  how  the  natives  mistook  them  for  gods,  and  worshipped 
them,  and  offered  sacrifices  to  them,  much  against  their  will,  and  how  he  took 
possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  narrative  goes 
on  :  "  Our  necessaire  business  being  ended,  our  General  with  his  companie  trav- 
ailed up  into  the  countrey  to  their  villiages,  where  we  found  heardes  of  deere  by 
1,000  in  a  companie,  being  most  large  and  fat  of  bodie.  We  found  the  whole 
countrey  to  be  a  warren  of  a  strange  kinde  of  connies,  their  bodies  in  bigness  as 
be  the  Barbaric  connies,  their  heads  as  the  heads  of  ours,  the  feet  of  a  Want, 
(mole,)  and  the  taile  of  a  rat,  being  of  great  length  ;  under  her  chinne  on  either 
side  a  bagge,  into  the  which  she  gathered  her  meate,  when  she  hath  filled  her 
bellie  abroad.  The  people  do  eat  their  bodies  and  make  great  accompt  of  their 
skinnes,  for  their  king's  coat  was  made  out  of.  them.  Our  General  called  this 
countrey  Nova  Albion,  and  that  for  two  causes :  the  one  in  respect  of  the  white 
bankes  and  cliffes  which  lie  toward  the  sea ;  and  the  other  because  it  might 
have  some  affinitie  with  our  countrey  in  name,  which  sometime  was  so  called. 

"  There  is  no  part  of  earth  here  to  be  taken  up,  wherein  there  is  not  a  reason- 
able quantitie  of  gold  or  silver" 

.  Every  one  will  at  once  recognize  the  burrowing  squirrel  that  still  survives  to 
plague  the  farmer,  and  who  it  will  be  seen  is  a  very  ancient  inhabitant  of  the 
fields  he  molests  ;  and  no  one  but  will  dwell  upon  the  words  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  gold  and  silver  abounding  in  this  country.  Were  they  but  a  happy  guess 
in  a  gold-mad  age,  a  miracle  of  sagacity,  or  a  veritable  prophecy  ?  Before  he 
sailed  away,  "our  General  set  up  a  monument  of  our  being  there,  as  also  of  her 
Majestie's  right  and  title  to  the  same,  viz  :  a  plate  nailed  upon  a  faire  great 
poste,  whereupon  was  engraven  her  Majestie's  name,  the  day  and  yare  of  our 
arrival  there,  with  the  free  giving  up  of  the  province  and  people  into  her  Majes- 
tic's  hands,  together  ivith  her  highness'  picture  and  arms,  in  a  piece  offivepence 
of  current  English  money  under  the  plate,  w her eunder  was  also  written  the  name 
of  our  General." 

These  mementoes  of  his  visit  and  the  first  recorded  landing  of  the  white  man 
upon  our  shores,  I  think  have  never  fallen  into  the  possession  of  any  antiquary. 
And  it  would  also  appear  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  knew  nothing  of  Cabrillo's 
voyage,  for  he  says:  "It  seemeth  that  the  Spaniards  hitherto  had  never  been 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  neither  did  discover  the  lande  by  many  degrees  to 
the  southward  of  this  place." 

There  were  other  expeditions  to  Lower  California  and  the  western  coast,  after 
the  time  of  Cortez  and  Cabrillo,  but  they  all  proved  fruitless  until  the  Count  de 
Monterey,  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  by  order  of  the  King,  sent  out  Sebastian 
Viscayno.  He  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  the  5th  day  of  May,  1602,  with  two 


272  KESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

large  vessels  and  a  tender,  as  captain-general  of  the  voyage,  with  Toribio 
Gomez,  a  consummate  seaman,  who  had  served  many  years  in  cruising  his 
Majesty's  ships,  as  admiral ;  and  three  barefooted  Carmelites,  Father  Andrew 
de  la  Assumpcion,  Father  Antonio  de  la  Ascension,  and  Father  Tomas  de 
Aguino,  also  accompanied  him.  And  that  Viscayno  might  not  lack  for  coun- 
sellors the  viceroy  appointed  Captain  Alonzo  Estevan  Pegnero,  a  person  of 
great  valor  and  long  experience,  who  had,, served  in  Flanders;  and  Captain 
Gas  par  de  Alorcon,  a  native  of  Bretagne,  distinguished  for  his  prudence  and 
courage;  and  for  sea  affairs,  he  appointed  pilots  and  masters  of  ships ;  likewise 
Captain  Geronimo  Martin,  who  went  as  cosmographer,  in  order  to  make  draughts 
of  the  countries  discovered,  for  the  greater  perspicuity  of  the  account  intended 
to  be  transmitted  to  his  Majesty,  of  the  diseoveriesca.n.d  transactions  on  this 
voyage.  The  ships  were  further  supplied  with  a  suitable  number  of  soldiers 
and  seamen,  and  well  provided  with  all  necessaries  for  a  year.  This  expedition 
was  therefore,  in  every  respect,  a  notable  one  for  the  age.  Its  object,  the  King 
of  Spain  himself  informs  us,  was  to  find  a  port  where  the  ships  coming  from  the 
Philippine  islands  to  Acapulco,  a  trade  which  had  then  been  established  some 
thirty  years,  might  put  in  and  provide  themselves  with  water,  wood,  masts,  and 
other  things  of  absolute  necessity.  The  galleons  from  Manila  had  all  this  time 
been  running  down  this  coast  before  the  northwest  wind,  and  were  even 
accustomed,  as  some  say,  to  make  the  land  as  far  to  the  north  as  Cape  Mendo- 
cino,  which  Cabrillo  had  named.  Sebastian  Viscayno  with  his  fleet  struggled 
up  against  the  same  northwest  wind.  On  the  10th  of  November,  1602,  he 
entered  San  Diego  and  found,  on  its  northwest  side,  a  forest  of  oaks  and  other 
trees,  of  considerable  extent,  of  which  I  do  not  know  that  there  are  any  traces 
now  or  even  a  tradition.  In  Lower  California  he  landed  frequently,  and  made 
an  accurate  survey  of  the  coast,  and  to  one  bay  gave  the  capricious  appellation 
of  the  '  Bay  of  eleven  thousand  Virgins.'  Above  San  Diego  he  kept  further 
from  the  shore,  noting  the  most  conspicuous  landmarks.  But  he  came  through 
the  canal  of  J3anta  Barbara,  which  I  suppose  he  so  named,  and,  when  at  anchor 
under  one  of  the  islands,  was  visited  by  the  king  of  that  country,  who  carne 
with  a  fleet  of  boats  and  earnestly  pressed  him  to  land,  offering  as  proof  of  his 
hospitable  intentions  to  furnish  every  one  of  his  seamen  with  ten  wives.  Finally 
he  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Monterey  on  the  16th  of  December,  1602 — this  was 
more  than  four  years  before  the  English  landed  at  Jamestown.  The  name  of 
Monterey  was  given  to  this  port  in  honor  of  the  viceroy.  On  the  17th  day  of 
December,  1602,  a  church,  tent  or  arbor,  was  erected  under  a  large  oak  close 
to  the  seaside,  and  Fathers  Andrew  de  la  Assumpcion  and  Antonio  de  la 
Ascension  said  Mass,  and  so  continued  to  do  whilst  the  expedition  remained 
there.  Yet  this  was  not  the  first  Christian  worship  on  these  shores,  for 
Drake  had-  worshipped  according  to  a  Protestant  ritual  at  the  place  where  he 
landed  twenty-five  years  before.  The  port  of  Monterey,  as  it  appeared  to  those 
weary  voyagers,  and  they  were  in  a  miserable  plight  from  the  affliction  of  scurvy, 
seems  to  have  been  very  pleasing.  It  is  described  in  the  narrative  of  Father 
Andrew  as  an  excellent  harbor,  and  secure  against  all  winds.  "  Near  the  shore 
are  an  infinite  number  of  very  large  pines,  straight  and  smooth,  fit  for  masts  and 
yards,  likewise  oaks  of  a  prodigious  size  for  building  ships.  Here  likewise  are 
rose  trees,  white  thorns,  firs,  willows,  and  poplars ;  large  clear  lakes,  fine  pas- 
tures and  arable  lands,"  &c.,  &c.  A  traveller  of  this  day,  perhaps,  might  not- 
color  the  picture  so  highly.  Viscayno  sent  back  one  of  his  ships  with  the  news, 
and  with  the  sick,  and  with  the  other  left  Monterey  on  the  3d  of  January,  1603, 
and  it  was  never  visited  more  for  a  hundred  and  sixty-six  years.  On  the  12th, 
having  a  fair  wind,  we  are  told  that  he  passed  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  and 
that  losing  sight  of  his  other  vessel  he  returned  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco  to 
wait  for  her.  Father  Andrew  de  la  Assumpcion  (as  reported  in  Father  Venegas) 
on  this  interesting  point  uses  the  following  language  :  "  Another  reason  which 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  273 

induced  the  Capitania  (flag-ship)  to  put  into  Puerto  Francisco  was  to  take  a 
survey  of  it  and  see  if  anything  was  to  be  found  of  the  San  Angustin,  which,  in 
the  year  1595,  had,  by  order  of  his  Majesty  and  the  Viceroy,  been  sent  from  the 
Philippines  to  survey  the  coast  of  California,  under  the  direction  of  Sebastian 
Rodriguez  Cermenon,  a  pilot  of  known  abilities,  but  was  driven  ashore  in  this 
harbor  by  the  violence  of  the  wind.  And  among  others  on  board  the  San  Au- 
gustin  was  the  pilot  Francisco  Volanos,  who  was  also  chief  pilot  of  this  squad- 
ron. He  was  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  affirmed  that  they  had  left  ashore 
a  great  quantity  of  wax  and  several  chests  of  silk ;  and  the  general  was  desirous 
of  putting  in  here  to  see  if  there  remained  any  vestiges  of  the  ship  and  cargo. 
The  Capitania  came  to  anchor  behind  a  point  of  land  called  La  Punta  de  los 
Reyes." 

Did  Vizcayno  enter  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  ?  I  think  it  plain  that  he  did 
not.  Yet  exceedingly  curious  and  interesting  it  is  to  reflect  that  he  was  but  a 
little  way  outside  the  heads,  and  that  the  indentation  of  the  coast  which  opens 
into  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  was  known  to  him  from  the  report  of  the  pilots 
of  the  ships  from  the  Philippines,  and  by  the  same  name.  In  the  narratives  of 
the  explorers  the  reader  is  often  puzzled  by  finding  that  objects  upon  the  shore 
are  spoken  of  as  already  known,  as  for  example  in  this  voyage  of  Vizcayno  the 
highlands  a  little  south  of  Monterey  are  mentioned  by  the  name  of  the  Sierra 
de  Santa  Lucia,  so  named  at  some  previous  time  :  the  explanation  follows  in  the 
same  sentence  where  they  are  said  to  be  a  usual  land-mark  for  the  China  ships — 
i.  e.,  undoubtedly  the  galleons  from  the  Philippines.  Vizcayno  could  reach  no 
further  north  than  Cape  Mendocino,  in  which  neighborhood  he  found  himself 
with  only  six  men  able  to  keep  the  deck  ;  his  other  vessel  penetrated  as  far  as 
the  forty-third  degree ;  and  then  both  returned  to  Acapulco.  In  those  days 
there  was  a  fabulous  story  very  prevalent  of  a  channel  somewhere  to  the  north 
of  us  which  connected  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  it  seems  that  some 
foreigner  had  actually  presented  to  the  King  of  Spain  a  history  of  a  voyage  he 
had  made  directly  across  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Pacific  ocean  by  the 
straits  of  Anian.  The  King  is  said  to  have  had  an  eye  to  the  discovery  of  this 
desirable  canal  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  making  provision  for  his  trade  from 
the  Western  Islands. 

In  1697  the  Jesuits,  with  patient  art  and  devoted  zeal,  accomplished  that 
which  had  defied  the  energy  of  Cortez  and  baffled  the  efforts  of  the  Spanish 
monarchy  for  generations  afterwards.  They  possessed  themselves  of  Lower 
California,  and  occupied  the  greater  portion  of  that  peninsula,  repulsive  as  it 
was,  with  their  missions.  In  1742,  Anson,  the  English  commodore,  cruising  off 
the  western  coast  of  Mexico,  watched  for  the  Spanish  galleon  which  still  plied 
an  annual  trip  between  Acapulco  and  Manila.  This  galleon  was  half  man-of- 
war,  half  merchantman,  was  armed,  manned,  and  officered  by  the  King,  but 
sailed  on  account  of  various  houses  of  the  Jesuits  in  the  Philippines,  who  owned 
her  tonnage  in  shares  of  a  certain  number  of  bales  each,  and  enjoyed  the  mo* 
nopoly  of  this  trade  by  royal  grant.  She  exchanged  dollars  from  the  Mexican 
mines  for  the  productions  of  the  east,  and  we  read  that  at  that  day  the  manufac- 
turers of  Valencia  and  Cadiz,  in  Spain,  clamored  for  protection  against  the  silks 
and  cotton  cloths  of  India  and  China  thus  imported — by  this  sluggish  craft  which 
crept  lazily  through  the  tropics,  relied  upon  rain  to  replenish  the  water  jars  on 
deck,  and  was  commonly  weakened  by  scurvy  and  required  about  six  months 
for  the  return  voyage — into  Acapulco,  thence  transported  on  mules  to  Vera 
Cruz,  and  thence  again  after  another  tedious  voyage  to  Europe.  Anson  watched 
in  vain ;  the  prudent  galleon  thought  it  best  to  remain  under  the  shelter  of  the 
guns  of  Acapulco,  in  the  presence  of  so  dangerous  a  neighbor.  He  sailed  away 
to  the  west,  stopped  and  refreshed  his  crew  at  a  romantic  island  in  the  middle 
of  the  Pacific  ocean,  went  over  to  Macao  and  there  refitted,  and  then  captured 
the  galleon  at  last,  with  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  on  board,  as  she  was 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 18 


274  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

going  into  Manilla,  after  a  desperate  combat  with  his  ship,  the  Centurion.  He 
then  returned  to  China,  extinguishing  a  great  fire  in  Canton  with  his  crew,  sold 
the  galleon  in  Macao,  and  got  back  safe  to  England  with  his  treasure.  His 
chaplain,  Mr.  Richard  Walter,  the  author  of  the  admirable  narrative  of  this  cele- 
brated voyage,  goes  on,  after  relating  the  capture,  to  say  :  "  I  shall  only  add, 
that  there  were  taken  on  board  the  galleon  several  draughts  and  journals.  * 
*  *  Among  the  rest  there  was  found  a  chart  of  all  the  ocean,  between  the 
Philippines  and  the  coast  of  Mexico,  which  was  that  made  use  of  by  the  galleon 
in  her  own  navigation.  A  copy  of  this  draught,  corrected  in  some  places  by 
our  own  observations,  is  here  annexed,  together  with  the  route  of  the  galleon 
traced  thereon  from  her  own  journals,  and  likewise  the  route  of  the  Centurion 
from  Acapulco  through  the  same  ocean." 

Here  we  may  look  for  information.  We  have  at  least  one  log-book  and  chart 
of  the  old  Manilla  galleons.  What  if  we  could  have  access  to  the  books  of 
account  of  those  venerable  old  traders  in  their  monasteries  at  Manilla  !  Examin- 
ing this  chart  we  find  that  the  coast  of  California,  from  a  little  further  north  than 
Punta  de  los  Reyes,  is  laid  down  with  remarkable  accuracy.  We  have  a  great 
indentation  of  the  coast  immediately  below  Punta  de  los  Reyes,  a  large  land- 
locked bay  with  a  narrow  entrance,  immediately  off  which  lie  seven  little  black 
spots  called  Los  Farallones — in  short,  a  bay  at  San  Francisco,  but  without  a 
name.  The  Farallones,  I  think,  were  named  by  Cabrillo,  in  1542,  two  hundred 
years  before  Anson's  time.  Was  this  our  port  of  San  Francisco  as  we  know  it, 
or  that  which  Vizcayno  entered  when  he  anchored  on  the  12th  of  January, 
1603,  under  a  point  of  land  called  La  Punta  de  los  Reyes  ?  Lower  down  we 
have  Point  Afio  Nuevo  and  Point  Pinos,  and  a  bay  between,  but  not  the  name 
of  Monterey,  then  a  great  many  islands,  then  Point  Conception,  then  San  Pedro, 
and  then  the  Port  of  San  Diego,  and  Lower  California  to  Cape  San  Lucas.  The 
outward  track  of  the  galleon  lies  between  12  and  15  degrees  north,  and  on  her 
return  she  goes  up  as  high  as  about  35  degrees,  and  there  being  off  Point  Con- 
ception, but  a  long  way  out  to  sea,  she  turns  to  the  south  and  runs  down  the 
coast  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  where  the  Jesuit  fathers  kept  signal  fires  burning  on 
the  mountains  to  guide  her  into  port,  and  expected  her  return  with  the  fruits 
and  fresh  provisions  which  the  exhausted  mariners  so  much  needed.  Such  was 
the  strange  precursor  of  the  steamship  and  clipper  on  the  waters  of  the  Pacific, 
and  the  first  great  carrier  of  the  commerce  between  its  opposite  shores  !  You 
will  observe  how  nature  brings  this  commerce  to  our  doors.  The  outward  run 
of  the  galleon  so  near  the  equator  was  to  take  the  eastern  trade-winds,  which 
wafted  her  without  the  necessity  of  changing  a  sail  directly  to  the  Philippines ; 
China  and  the  Indies — and  her  returning  course  was  to  avoid  these  trade- winds 
and  to  catch  the  breezes  which  to  the  north  blow  from  the  west.  And  this 
great  circle  of  the  winds  touches  our  shores  at  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  This 
chart  was  drawn  for  the  use  of  the  Spanish  generals,  (for  such  was  the  title  and 
rank  of  the  commanders  of  the  Spanish  galleons,)  and  "  contained  all  the  dis- 
coveries which  the  Manilla  ships  have  at  any  time  made  in  traversing  this  vast 
ocean." 

It  was  these  discoveries  that  gave  names  to  so  many  points  upon  our  coast 
undoubtedly,  and  prompted  so  many  explorers,  after  Cabrillo,  and  both  before 
and  after  Yizcayno.  Knowing  so  much,  the  wonder  is  that  these  navigators 
did  not  know  more.  They  named,  and  noted  on  their  chart,  yet  did  not  know 
our  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  Yearly  for  centuries  they  coasted  by.  A  priest  or 
soldier  standing  upon  the  deck  of  this  old-timed  ship,  might  gaze  upon  a  glori- 
ous land  that  overhung  the  western  sea ;  with  hills  on  hills  a  swelling  pile, 
glowing  in  sunsets  that  had  gilded  them  through  countless  ages.  But,  save  in 
the  casual  visits  of  the  earliest  navigators,  we  know  not  that  foot  of  white  man 
yet  had  pressed  the  soil  of  California.  The  world  was  busy  in  commerce  and 
Hi  war.  But  the  breeze  still  rufiled  the  vacant  waters,  dimpled  the  idle  grass, 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  275 

and  fanned  the  sultry  sides  of  the  solitary  mountains  of  California.  These 
slopes  and  plains  pastured  but  the  deer  and  elk.  A  despicable  type  of  man,  in 
petty  groups,  wandered  through  these  valleys,  of  which  the  bear  was  more  the 
lord  than  he.  No  other  human  tenant  occupied  the  most  delightful  of  the  habi- 
tations of  man,  nor  had  from  the  creation  down. 

The  Spaniards  were  at  best  but  feeble  navigators.  Witness  the  galleons 
making  a  tedious  progress  in  the  latitude  of  calms.  Anson  says  that  the  in- 
structions to  their  commanders  were,  in  his  day,  to  keep  within  the  latitude  of 
30  degrees,  if  possible,  as  if  they  feared  to  encounter  the  stiffer  breezes  further 
north,  an  instruction,  however,  not  always  followed,  as  their  chart  demonstrates. 
To  vessels  such  as  then  were  built  or  to  be  found  in  Mexican  or  South  Ameri- 
can ports  the  daily  winds  from  the  northwest,  which  in  summer  roughen  the 
sea  all  along  the  coast  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  were  gales  against  which  it  was 
dangerous  and  almost  hopeless  to  attempt  to  make  head.  This  labor  had  not 
diminished  from  the  days  of  Cabrillo  and  Vizcayno.  These  most  beneficent 
northwest  trade-winds  cut  off  California  from  Spanish  America  by  sea.  By 
land  the  desert  tracts  of  the  Gila  and  Upper  California,  both  unexplored, 
barred  the  approach  from  the  south;  and  to  the  east  the  human  imagination 
had  not  yet  traversed  the  interval  from  the  Atlantic  ocean.  In  1769  the 
history  of  mankind  may  be  said  to  have  begun  upon  this  coast.  In  this  wise 
it  begun. 

Charles  the  Fifth,  on  the  17th  day  of  November,  1526,  addressed  these 
words  to  his  Indies  : 

"  The  kings,  our  progenitors,  from  the  discovery  of  the  West  Indies,  its 
islands  and  continents,  commanded  our  captains,  officers,  discoverers,  colonizers, 
and  all  other  persons,  that,  on  arriving  at  those  provinces,  they  should,  by 
means  of  interpreters,  cause  to  be  made  known  to  the  Indians  that  they  were 
sent  to  teach  them  good  customs,  to  lead  them  from  vicious  habits  and  the 
eating  of  human  flesh,  to  instruct  them  in  our  holy  Catholic  faith,  to  preach  to 
them  salvation,  and  to  attract  them  to  our  dominions." 

The  same  spirit  breathes  through  every  part  of  the  laws  of  the  Indies,  as 
they  were  issued  for  successive  centuries,  which  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  code  in  which  they  are  compiled. 

The  ministers  who  executed  these  pious  purposes  of  the  king  were  mainly 
the  soldiers  of  the  cross.  Christian  priests  converted  our  savage  ancestors  in 
the  forests  of  the  north  of  Europe,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  great  re- 
public of  European  states,  of  which  the  cement  is  modern  civilization. 
Christian  priests  endeavored  to  repeat  that  grand  achievement  in  America.  A 
sublime  contemplation !  They  interposed  the  cross  and  staid  the  descending 
sword  and  the  still  swifter  destruction  of  private  greed.  Their  powerful  pro- 
tector was  the  King  of  Spain,  when  both  continents  were  almost  entirely  Span- 
ish. Their  dusky  converts  who  acknowledged  the  dominion  of  Christ  were 
saved  as  subjects  of  the  king,  were  admitted  to  civil  rights,  and  mingled  their 
blood  with  that  of  the  descendants  of  the  Visigoths.  In  the  lineaments  and 
complexion  of  the  Spanish  American  we  still  behold  the  native  Indian  whom 
the  church  preserved.  Exalted  charity  !  at  least  in  motive ;  and  although  the 
teacher  could  riot  foresee  that  the  same  lesson  would  not  effect  the  same  re- 
sult in  pupils  so  diverse,  it  was  not  their  fault  that  they  did  not  raise  the 
crouching  Indian  to  the  level  of  the  conquering  German. 

In  1767  the  Jesuits  being  banished  from  the  Spanish  dominions,  Lower  Cali- 
fornia was  transferred  to  the  charge  of  another  celebrated  order,  the  Francis- 
cans. Into  this  field,  when  it  had  been  wrested  from  the  Society  of  Jesus,  the 
Franciscans  were  led  by  one  who  was  born  in  an  island  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  son  of  humble  laborers.  From  his  infancy  Father  Junipero  Serra 
was  reared  for  the  church.  He  had  already  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the 
conversion  and  civilization  of  heathen  savages  in  other  parts  of  Mexico ;  and 


276  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

afterwards  had  preached  revivals  of  the  faith  in  Christian  places,  illustrating1, 
as  we  are  told,  the  strength  of  his  convictions  and  the  fervor  of  his  zeal  by 
demonstrations  which  would  startle  us  now  coming  from  the  pulpit — such  as 
burning  his  flesh  with  the  blaze  of  a  candle,  beating  himself  with  a  chain,  and 
bruising  his  breast  with  a  stone  which  he  carried  in  his  hand.  Further,  this 
devout  man  was  lame  from  an  incurable  sore  on  his  leg,  contracted  soon  after 
his  landing  in  Mexico  ;  but  he  usually  travelled  on  foot  none  the  less.  You  have 
before  you  the  first  great  pioneer  of  California !  His  energies  were  not  destined 
to  be  wasted  in  the  care  of  missions  which  others  had  founded.  He  entered 
immediately  upon  the  spiritual  conquest  of  the  regions  of  the  north.  Josef  de 
Galvez,  then  visitor  general,  a  very  high  officer,  (representing  the  person  of  the 
king  in  the  inspection  of  the  working  of  every  part  of  the  government  of  the 
province  to  which  he  was  sent,)  and  who  afterwards  held  the  still  more  exalted 
position  of  minister  general  for  all  the  Indies,  arrived  at  this  time  in  Lower 
California,  bringing  a  royal  order  to  despatch  an  expedition  by  sea  to  re-discover 
and  people  the  Port  of  Monterey,  or  at  least  that  of  San  Dieogo.  Father  Ju- 
nipero  entered  with  enthusiasm  into  his  plans,  and  after  consulting  with  him 
and  learning  the  condition  of  the  missions  and  the  latitude  of  the  most  northern, 
Galvez,  the  better  to  fulfil  the  wishes  of  his  majesty,  determined,  besides  the 
expedition  by  sea,  to  send  another  which  should  go  in  search  of  San  Diego  by 
land,  at  which  point  the  two  expeditions  should  meet  and  make  an  establish- 
ment. And  he  further  resolved  to  found  three  missions,  one  at  San  Diego,  one 
at  Monterey,  and  another  mid-way  between  these,  at  San  Buena  Ventura.  A 
fleet,  consisting  of  two  small  vessels,  at  this  time  came  over  to  Lower  California 
from  £an  Bias;  the  San  Carlos  and  the  San  Antonio,  otherwise  the  Principe. 
Of  these  the  San  Carlos  was  the  capitania  or  flag-ship.  Galvez,  a  really  great 
man,  labored  with  great  diligence  and  good  nature  to  get  them  ready  for  sea; 
with  his  own  hands  assisting  the  workmen,  such  as  there  were  to  be  found  in 
that  remote  corner  of  the  world,  in  careening  the  vessels,  and  the  fathers  in 
boxing  up  the  ornaments,  sacred  vases,  and  other  utensils  of  the  church  and 
vestry,  and  boasting  in  a  letter  that  he  was  a  better  sacristan  than  Father 
Junipero,  because  he  had  put  up  the  ornaments,  &c.,  for  his  mission,  as  he  called 
that  of  San  Buena  Ventura,  before  that  servant  of  God  had  those  for  his  of  San 
Carlos,  and  had  to  go  and  help  him.  Also,  that  the  new  missions  might  be 
established  in  the  same  manner  with >  those  of  Sierra  Gorda,  where  Father  Ju- 
nipero had  formerly  labored,  and  with  which  he  was  much  pleased.  Galvez 
ordered  to  be  boxed  up  and  embarked  all  kinds  of  household  and  field  utensils, 
with  the  necessary  iron-work  for  cultivating  the  lands,  and  every  species  of 
seeds,  as  well  those  of  old  as  of  new  Spain,  without  forgetting  the  very  least, 
such  as  garden-herbs,  flowers,  and  flax,  the  land  being,  he  said,  in  his  opinion, 
fertile  for  everything,  as  it  was  in  the  same  latitude  with  Spain.  For  the  same 
purpose,  he  determined  that  from  the  furthest  north  of  the  old  missions  the 
land  expedition  should  carry  two  hundred  head  of  cows,  bulls,  and  oxen,  to 
stock  that  new  country  with  large  cattle,  in  order  to  cultivate  the  whole  of  it, 
and  that  in  proper  time  there  should  be  no  want  of  something  to  .eat. 

Father  Junipero  blessed  the  vessels  and  the  flags,  Galvez  made  an  impressive 
harangue,  the  expedition  embarked,  and  the  San  Carlos  sailed  from  La  Paz,  in 
Lower  California,  on  the  9th  day  of  January,  1769.  The  whole  enterprise  was 
commended  to  the  patronage  of  the  Most  Holy  Patriarch  St.  Joseph.  On  the 
San  Carlos  sailed  Don  Vicente  Villa,  commander  of  the  maritime  expedition ; 
Don  Pedro  Fages,  a  lieutenant  commanding  a  company  of  twenty-five  soldiers 
of  the  Catalonian  volunteers ;  the  engineer,  Don  Miguel  Constanzo ;  likewise 
Dr.  Pedro  Pratt,  a  surgeon  of  the  royal  navy,  and  all  the  necessary  crew  and 
officers.  With  them  for  their  consolation  went  the  Father  Friar  Fernando  Par- 
ron.  Galvez,  in  a  small  vessel,  accompanied  the  San  Carlos  as  far  as  Cape  San 
Lucas,  and  saw  her  put  to  sea  with  a  fair  wind  on  the  llth  day  of  January, 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  277 

1769.  The  San  Antonio,  the  other  vessel,  went  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  and  Galvez 
set  to  work  with  the  same  energy  and  heartiness  to  get  her  ready.  She  sailed 
on  the  15th  day  of  February,  1769.  The  captain  of  the  San  Antonio  was  Don 
Juan  Perez,  a  native  of  Majorca,  and  a  distinguished  pilot  of  the  Philippine 
trade.  With  him  sailed  two  priests,  Fathers  Juan  Vizcayno  and  Francisco 
Gomez.  The  archives  of  this  State  contain  a  paper  of  these  times  which  cannot 
but  be  read  with  interest.  It  is  the  copy  of  the  receipt  of  the  commander,  Vin- 
cente  Villa,  containing  a  list  of  all  the  persons  on  board  the  San  Carlos,  and  an 
inventory  of  eight  months'  provisions.  It  reads  thus  : 

OFFICERS    AND    CREW,  SOLDIERS,  ETC.,  OP    THE    SAN    CARLOS. 

« 

The  two  army  officers,  the  father  missionary,  the  captain,  pilot,  and 

surgeon 6  persons. 

The  company  of  soldiers,  being  the  surgeon,  corporal,  and  twenty- 
three  men 25  persons. 

The  officers  of  the  ship  and  crew,  including  two  pages,  (cabin  boys 

doubtless) 25  persons. 

The  baker  and  two  blacksmiths 3  persons. 

The  cook  and  two  tortilla  makers 3  persons. 

•  

Total , 62  persons. 

Dried  meat,  187  arrobas,  (25  pounds,)  6  libras;  fish,  77  arrobas,  8  libras  ; 
crackers,  (common,)  267  arrobas,  3  libras  ;  crackers,  (white,)  47  arrobas,  7  libras ; 
Indian  corn,  760  fanegas;  rice,  37  arrobas,  20  libras  ;  peas,  37  arrobas,  20  libras ; 
lard,  20  arrobas;  vinegar,  7  tinajas,  (jars;)  salt,  8  fanegas  ;  panocha,  (domestic 
sugar,)  43  arrobas,  8  libras ;  cheese,  78  arrobas  ;  brandy,  5  tinajas  ;  wine,  6  tin- 
ajas ;  figs,  6  tinajas  ;  raisins,  3  tinajas;  dates,  2  tinajas  ;  sugar,  5  arrobas ;  choco- 
late, 77  arrobas;  hams,  70  arrobas;  oil,  (table,)  6  tinajas  ;  oil,  (fish,)  5  tinajas; 
red  pepper,  12  libras ;  black  pepper,  7  libras ;  cinnamon,  7  libras ;  garlic,  5 
libras ;  25  smoked  beef  tongues ;  6  live  cattle  ;  70  tierces  of  flour,  each  of  25 
arrobas,  20  libras ;  15  sacks  of  bran ;  lentiles,  23  arrobas  ;  beans,  19  arrobas, 
20  libras  ;  one  thousand  dollars  in  reals  (coin)  for  any  unexpected  emergency. 
Besides  32  arrobas  of  panocha  (domestic  sugars,)  20  for  the  two  missions  of  San 
Diego  and  Monterey,  one  half  to  each,  and  the  remaining  12  arrobas  for  the  grat- 
ification of  the  Indians,  and  to  barter  with  them.  16  sacks  of  charcoal ;  1  box 
of  tallow  candles  of  4J  arrobas  ;  1  pair  of  16-pound  scales  ;  2  pounds  of  lamp 
wick. 

The  original  of  this  simple  and  homely  document,  but  which  enables  us  to 
realize  so  clearly  these  obscure  transactions,  yet  so  full  of  interest  for  us,  was 
given  unquestionably  to  Galvez,  and  this  copy  we  may  presume  brought  to 
to  California  on  this  first  voyage  of  the  Santa  Carlos  to  serve  as  her  mani- 
fest. It  is  dated  the  5th  of  January,  1 769.  Of  the  same  date  we  have  the 
instructions  of  Galvez  to  Villa  and  Fages,  addressed  to  each  of  them  sepa- 
rately— that  is,  the  original  is  given  to  Villa  under  the  signature  of  Galvez 
and  a  copy  to  Fages.  They  are  long  and  minute.  The  first  article  declares 
that  the  first  object  of  the  expedition  is  to  establish  the  "  Catholic  religion 
among  a  numerous  heathen  people,  submerged  in  the  obscure  darkness  of  pagan- 
ism, to  extend  the  dominion  of  the  King  our  lord,  and  to  protect  this  peninsula^ 
from  the  ambitious  views  of  foreign  nations."  He  also  recites  that  this  project 
had  been  entertained  since  1606,  when  it  was  ordered  to  be  executed  by  Philip 
III,  referring  to  orders  which  were  issued  by  that  monarch  in  consequence  of 
the  report  made  by  Vizcayno,  but  which  were  never  carried  into  effect.  He 
enjoins  that  no  labor  or  fatigue  be  spared  now  for  the  accomplishment  of  such 
just  and  holy  ends.  San  Diego,  he  says,  will  be  found  in  latitude  33  degrees, 


278  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

as  set  forth  in  the  royal  cedula  of  1606,  (one  hundred  and  sixty-three  years 
before,)  and  that  it  cannot  fail  to  be  recognized  from  the  landmarks  mentioned 
by  Vizcayno.  At  the  conclusion  in  his  own  handwriting  we  have  the  follow- 
ing: 

"NoTE. — That  to  the  fort  or  presidio  that  may  be  constructed,  and  to  the 
pueblo  (village)  of  the  mission  which  may  be  established  at  Monterey,  there 
shall  be  given  the  glorious  name  of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey. — JOSEPH  DB 
GALVEZ,"  (with  his  rubric.) 

When  the  San  Antonio  sailed  she  seems  to  have  carried  a  letter  from  Galvez 
to  Pedro  Fages,  who  had  gone  in  advance  on  the  San  Carlos,  for  we  have  it  now 
in  the  archives.  It  is  dated  cape  San  Lucas,  February  14,  1769.  The  body 
of  the  letter  is  in  substance :  That  the  San  Antonio  arrived  at  the  bay  (Sari 
Lucas)  on  the  twenty -fifth  of  last  month,  (January ;)  that  she  was  discharged 
and  cleared  of  barnacles ;  that  he  examined  the  vessel  with  his  own  eyes,  and 
found  the  keel  thereof  as  sound  as  when  it  was  placed  in  the  vessel ;  that  the 
necessary  repairs  had  been  made,  and  her  cargo  again  placed  on  board,  and  that 
to-morrow,  if  the  weather  permit,  she  will  sail,  and  that  he  trusts  in  Providence 
she  will  come  safely  into  Monterey  and  find  him  (Fages)  already  in  possession 
of  the  country. 

So  far  it  is  in  the  handwriting  of  a  clerk.  He  then  adds  a  postscript  with  his 
own  hand,  addressed  as  well  to  Father  Parron  and  the  Engineer  Constanzo  as 
to  Fages.  I  read  it,  for  it  is  pleasant  to  have,  as  it  were,  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  eminent  personage  who  directed  the  foundation  of  Upper  Cali- 
fornia, and  to  find  him  a  gentleman  of  such  manifest  abilities,  generous  temper, 
and  enthusiasm : 

"Mv  FRIENDS  :  It  appears  that  the  Lord,  to  my  confusion,  desires  infinitely 
to  reward  the  only  virtue  I  possess,  which  is  my  constant  faith,  for  everything 
here  goes  on  prosperously,  even  to  the  mines  abounding  in  metals.  Many  peo- 
ple are  collecting,  with  abundance  of  provisions. 

"  I  hope  you  will  sing  the  Te  Detim  in  Monterey,  and  in  order  that  we  may 
repeat  it  here,  you  will  not  withhold  the  notice  of  the  same  an  instant  longer  than 
is  necessary. 

4 '  This  is  also  for  the  Reverend  Father  Parron. 

"  JOSEF  DE  GALVEZ,"  (Rubrica.) 

Just  as  active  was  he  in  getting  off  the  land  expedition.  The  chief  command 
was  given  to  Don  Gaspar  de  Portala,  captain  of  dragoons,  and  then  governor  of 
Lower  California ;  the  second  rank  to  Don  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  captain 
of  a  company  of  foot  soldiers  who  carried  leathern  bucklers.  And  in  imitation 
of  Jacob,  Galvez,  in  view  of  the  dangers  of  the  route  through  savages  and  an 
unknown  country,  divided  the  force  into  two  parts,  to  save  one  if  the  other  was 
lost.  Rivera  was  to  lead  the  first  and  the  governor  to  follow  after.  Rivera  sets 
out  towards  the  north  as  early  as  September,  1768,  collecting  mules  and  mule- 
teers, horses,  dried  meat,  grain,  flour,  biscuits,  &c ,  among  the  missions;  en- 
camps on  the  verge  of  the  unexplored  regions,  and  sends  word  to  the  visitor 
general  that  he  will  be  ready  to  start  for  San  Diego  in  all  of  March.  Father 
Juan  Crespi  there  joins  him,  and  on  the  24th  day  of  March,  which  was  Good 
Friday,  he  begins  the  journey.  This  party  consisted  of  the  Captain  Rivera, 
Father  Crespi,  a  pilot  who  went  to  keep  a  diary,  twenty-five  foot  soldiers  with 
leathern  bucklers,  three  muleteers,  and  a  band  of  Christian  Indians  of  Lower 
California,  to  serve  as  pioneers,  assistants  to  the  muleteers,  and  for  anything  else 
that  might  be  necessary,  and  who  carried  bows  and  arrows.  They  spent  fifty- 
two  days  in  the  journey,  and  on  the  14th  day  of  May  arrived,  without  accident, 
at  San  Diego.  Father  Junipero  Serra,  president  of  the  missions  of  Lower  Cal- 
ifornia, and  of  those  that  were  to  be  founded,  marched  with  Portala.  The  sea- 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  279 

son  of  lent,  the  dispositions  to  be  made  for  the  regulation  of  the  missions  during 
his  absence,  and  the  preparations  for  the  expedition  in  its  spiritual  part,  detained 
him,  so  that  it  was  May  before  he  joined  Portalaat  the  same  encampment  from 
which  Rivera  had  set  out.  The  reverend  father  president  came  up  in  very  bad 
condition.  He  was  travelling  with  an  escort  of  two  soldiers,  and  hardly  able 
to  get  on  or  off  his  mule.  His  foot  and  leg  were  greatly  inflamed,  and  the  more 
that  he  always  wore  sandals,  and  never  used  boots,  shoes,  or  stockings.  His 
priests  and  the  governor  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  the  undertaking,  but  he  said 
he  would  rather  die  on  the  road,  yet  he  had  faith  that  the  Lord  would  carry 
him  safely  through.  A  letter  was  even  sent  to  Gralvez,  but  he  was  a  kindred 
spirit,  and  agreed  with  Father  Junipero,  who,  however,  was  far  into  the  wilder- 
ness before  the  answer  was  received.  On  the  second  day  out,  his  pain  was  so 
great  that  he  could  neither  sit  nor  stand,  nor  sleep,  and  Portala,  being  still 
unable  to  induce  him  to  return,  gave  orders  for  a  litter  to  be  made.  Hearing  this, 
Father  Junipero  was  greatly  distressed  on  the  score  of  the  Indians,  who  would 
have  to  carry  him.  He  prayed  fervently,  and  then  a  happy  thought  occurred 
to  him.  He  called  one  of  the  muleteers  and  addressed  him,  so  runs  the  story, 
in  these  words  :  "  Son,  don't  you  know  some  remedy  for  the  sore  on  my  foot 
and  leg  ? "  But  the  muleteer  answered,  "  Father,  what  remedy  can  I  know  ? 
Am  I  a  surgeon  ?  I  am  a  muleteeer,  and  have  only  cured  the  sore  backs  of 
beasts."  "  Then  consider  me  a  beast,"  said  the  father,  "  and  this  sore  which 
has  produced  this  swelling  of  my  legs,  and  the  grievous  pains  I  am  suffering, 
and  that  neither  let  me  stand  nor  sleep,  to  be  a  sore  back,  and  give  me  the  same 
treatment  you  would  apply  to  a  beast."  The  muleteer,  smiling,  as  did  all  the 
rest  who  heard  him,  answered,  "  I  will,  father,  to  please  you ;  "  and  taking  a 
small  piece  of  tallow,  mashed  it  between  two  stones,  mixing  with  it  herbs, 
which  he  found  growing  close  by,  and  having  heated  it  over  the  fire,  annointed 
the  foot  and  leg,  leaving  a  plaster  of  it  on  the  sore.  God  wrought  in  such  a 
manner — for  so  wrote  Father  Junipero  himself  from  San  Diego — that  he  slept 
all  that  night  until  daybreak,  and  awoke  so  much  relieved  from  his  pains  that 
he  got  up  and  said  matins  and  prime,  and  afterwards  Mass,  as  if  he  had  never 
suffered  such  an  accident ;  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  governor  and  the 
troop  at  seeing  the  father  in  such  health  and  spirits  for  the  journey,  which  was 
not  delayed  a  moment  on  his  account.  Such  a  man  was  Father  Junipero  Serra ; 
and  so  he  journeyed  when  he  went  to  conquer  California.  On  the  first  of  July, 
1769,  they  reached  San  Diego,  all  well,  in  forty-six  days  after  leaving  the 
frontier.  When  they  came  in  sight  of  the  port  the  troops  began  firing  for  joy  ; 
those  already  there  replied  in  the  same  manner.  The  vessels  at  anchor  joined 
in  the  salute,  and  so  they  kept  up  the  firing,  until,  all  having  arrived,  they  fell 
to  embracing  one  another,  and  to  mutual  congratulations  at  finding  all  the  ex- 
peditions united  and  already  at  their  longed-for  destination.  Here,  then,  we 
have  the  officers  and  priests,  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  laborers,  mules,  oxen  and 
cows,  seeds,  tools,  implements  of  husbandry,  and  vases,  ornaments,  and  utensils 
for  the  church,  gotten  together  to  begin  the  work  of  settlement,  conversion,  and 
civilization  on  the  soil  of  California.  The  first  day  of  July,  ninety-one  years 
ago,  is  the  first  day  of  California.  The  year  1769  is  our  era.  The  obscure 
events  that  I  have  noticed  must  yet  by  us  be  classed  among  its  greatest  occur- 
rences, although  it  saw  the  birth  of  Napoleon  and  Wellington. 

The  number  of  souls  then  at  San  Diego  should  have  been  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  but  the  San  Carlos  had  had  a  very  hard  time  at  sea,  not  reaching 
San  Diego  (which  place  she  found  with  difficulty)  until  twenty  days  after  the 
arrival  of  the  San  Antonio,  which  sailed  five  weeks  later.  She  had,  of  the 
crew,  but  one  sailor  and  the  cook  left  alive ;  all  the  rest  had  died  of  scurvy. 
The  first  thin£  to  be  done  was  to  found  a  mission  and  to  look  for  Monterey, 
which  from  Vizcayno's  time  had  been  lost  to  the  world.  For  founding  a  mis- 
sion this  was  the  proceeding  : 


280  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES, 

Formal  possession  of  the  designated  spot  was  taken  in  the  name  of  Spain. 
A  tent  or  arbor,  or  whatever  construction  was  most  practicable,  was  erected  to 
serve  as  a  temporary  church,  and  adorned  as  well  as  circumstances  would  per- 
mit ;  a  father  in  his  robes  blessed  the  place  and  the  chapel,  sprinkling  them 
with  water,  which  also  he  had  first  blessed  for  the  occasion,  and  immediately 
the  holy  cross,  having  first  been  adored  by  all,  was  mounted  on  a  staff  and 
planted  in  front  of  the  chapel.  A  saint  was  named  as  a  patron  of  the  mission, 
and  a  father  appointed  as  its  minister.  Mass  was  said  and  a  fervent  discourse 
concerning  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  delivered.  That  service,  celebrated 
with  such  candles  or  other  lights  as  they  might  have,  being  over,  the  Veni 
Creator  Spiritus — an  invocation  to  the  Holy  Ghost — was  sung,  whilst  the  con- 
tinual firing  of  the  soldiers  during  the  ceremony  supplied  the  place  of  an  organ, 
and  the  smoke  of  the  gunpowder  that  of  incense,  if  it  was  wanting. 

The  mission  being  founded,  the  next  thing  was  to  attract  the  Indians.  This 
was  done  in  the  simplest  manner,  by  presents  of  food  and  cloth  to  the  older  ones, 
and  bits  of  sugar  to  the  young  ones.  When  they  had  learned  enough  of  their 
language  to  communicate  with  them,  they  taught  them  the  mysteries  of  the  faith, 
and  when  they  were  able  to  say  a  few  prayers  and  make  in  some  sort  a  confes- 
sion of  faith,  they  were  baptised  and  received  into  the  fold  of  the  Church.  At 
the  same  time  they  were  drawn  from  a  wandering  life,  collected  in  villages  around 
the  mission  Church,  and  instructed  in  the  habits  and  arts  of  civilized  life.  To 
keep  them  in  the  practice  of  their  lessons,  spiritual  and  secular,  the  father  in 
charge  of  the  mission  had  over  them  the  control  of  a  master,  and  for  them  the 
affection  of  a  parent,  and  was  supported  in  his  authority  by  the  soldiers  at  the 
presidios,  or  an  escort  stationed  at  the  mission  itself. 

This  was  the  mode  of  accomplishing  what  Galvez  in  his  instructions  declared 
to  be  the  first  object  of  the  enterprise.  And  in  this  manner  Father  Junipero 
begun  the  work  at  San  Diego  on  the  16th  day  of  July.  An  untoward  incident 
of  a  very  unusual  nature  in  California  attended  this  first  essay.  The  Indians, 
not  being  permitted  to  steal  all  the  cloth  they  coveted,  surprised  the  mission 
when  only  four  soldiers,  the  carpenter,  and  blacksmith  were  present,  and  Father 
Junipero  would  have  been  murdered  then  at  the  outset,  but  for  the  muskets, 
leathern  jackets,  and  bucklers,  and  mainly  the  valor  of  the  blacksmith.  This 
man  had  just  come  from  the  communion,  to  which  circumstance  the  fathers  at- 
tributed his  heroism,  and  although  he  wore  no  defensive  armor  of  skins,  he 
rushed  out  shouting  vivas  for  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  and  death  to  the  dogs, 
its  enemies,  at  the  same  time  firing  away  at  the  savages. 

On  the  14th  day  of  July  the  Governor  Portala  and  a  servant ;  Father  Juan 
Crespi  and  Francisco  Gomez  ;  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  the  second 
in  command,  with  a  sergeant  and  twenty-six  soldiers  of  the  leathern  jackets  ; 
Lieutenant  Pedro  Fages  and  seven  of  his  soldiers — the  rest  had  died  on  the  San 
Carlos  or  were  left  sick  at  San  Diego  ;  Don  Miguel  Constauzo,  the  engineer  ; 
seven  muleteers,  and  fifteen  Christian  Indians,  sixty  five  persons  in  all,  with  a 
pack  train  carrying  a  large  supply  of  provisions,  set  out  to  rediscover  Monterey. 
The  mortality  on  board  the  San  Carlos  prevented  any  attempt  at  that  time  by 
sea ;  that  vessel  having  to  be  laid  up  at  San  Diego,  whilst  all  the  efficient  men 
were  transferred  to  the  San  Antonio,  which  was  sent  back  with  the  news  and 
for  reinforcements,  and  lost  nine  men  before  reaching  San  Bias,  although  she 
made  the  voyage  in  twenty  days.  Such  was  navigation  on  this  coast  at  that 
time.  Portala  returned  to  San  Diego  on  the  24th  of  June,  six  months  and  ten 
days  after  his  departure.  He  had  been  at  the  port  of  Monterey,  stopped  there 
and  set  up  a  cross  without  recognizing  the  place.  Father  Crespi,  who  kept  the 
diary,  said  he  supposed  the  bay  had  been  filled  up,  as  they  found  a  great  many 
large  sand-hills.  This  disappointment  caused  Portala  to  keep  on  further  towards 
the  north,  and  at  forty  leagues  distant  in  that  direction  they  discovered  the  port 
of  San  Francisco,  which  they  recognized  at  once  by  the  description  they  had  of 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  281 

it.  The  fathers  considered  this  circumstance  as  providential.  They  remem- 
bered that  when  Galvez  was  instructing  Father  Juuiperoby  what  names  to  call 
the  three  missions  he  was  to  found,  the  father  had  asked  him  :  "But,  sir,  is  there 
to  be  no  mission  for  our  father,  St.  Francis?"  and  that  the  visitor  general  had 
replied  :  "If  St.  Francis  wants  a  mission,  let  him  show  us  his  port,  and  we  will 
put  one  there."  And  in  view  of  the  discovery,  they  thought  that  it  was  now 
clear  that  St.  Francis  did  want  a  mission,  and  had  concealed  Monterey  from 
them  purposely  that  they  might  go  and  find  his  port ;  and  Galvez  to  some  extent 
may  have  been  of  the  same  opinion,  as  they  say,  for  he  ordered  a  mission  to  be 
founded  there,  and  a  presidio  also,  as  soon  as  he  received  the  news.  However 
this  may  be,  a  question  of  more  historical  interest,  or  curiosity,  at  least,  is  whether, 
notwithstanding  that  Portala  kneiv  the  port  from  description  as  soon  as  he  saw- 
it,  any  other  white  man  had  ever  seen  it  before.  His  latest  guide  was  the  voy- 
age of  Vizcayno,  who  had  entered  the  port  of  San  Francisco  on  the  12th  of 
January  1603,  and  anchored  under  a  point  of  land  called  Punta  de  Los  Reyes, 
namely,  in  the  bight  outside  the  heads  and  north  of  Point  Bonita. 

In  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  as  known  to  Vizcayno,  the  Manilla  galleon  San 
Augustine  had  been  wrecked  a  few  years  before.  Did  a  galleon  ever  enter  our 
bay  ?  Vizcayno  was  searching  for  a  port  to  shelter  the  Manilla  trade ;  if  he  had 
seen  our  harbor  would  he  have  ever  thought  of  recommending  Monterey  1  He 
was  doubtless  following  the  pilot  who  gave  the  information  of  the  loss  of  the 
San  Augustine ;  if  that  pilot  had  seen  this  port  would  not  the  specific  object  of 
Vizcayno  have  been  to  find  it  again,  and  not  generally  to  explore  the  coast  to 
look  for  a  good  harbor?  Had  anything  been  known  of  it,  would  it  not  have 
been  mentioned  by  Galvez  in  his  first  instructions  to  Villa,  in  which  he  is  so 
earnest  on  the  subject  of  Monterey?  Would  he  have  waited  for  this  news  to 
have  given  the  urgent  orders  that  he  did,  that  this  important  place  should  be 
taken  possession  of  immediately,  for  fear  that  it  might  fall  into  the  hands  of 
foreigners  ?  It  seems  to  me  certain  that  Portala  was  the  discoverer.  And  I 
regard  it  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  in  history,  that  others  had  passed 
it,  anchored  near  it  and  actually  given  its  name  to  adjacent  roadsteads,  and  so 
described  its  position  that  it  was  immediately  known ;  and  yet  that  the  cloud 
had  never  been  lifted  which  concealed  the  entrance  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco, 
and  that  it  was  at  last  discovered  by  land. 

Although  Portala  reported  that  he  could  not  find  the  port  of  Monterey,  it  was 
suspected  at  the  time  that  he  had  been  there.  Father  Junipero  writes  that  such 
was  his  opinion  and  that  of  Don  Vicente  Villa,  of  the  San  Carlos.  In  the  same 
letter  he  mentions  another  matter,  and  one  which  disturbed  him  greatly.  The 
Governor  Portala,  finding  his  provisions  very  short,  determined  if  a  vessel  did 
not  arrive  with  relief,  to  abandon  the  mission  on  the  20th  of  March. 

But  California  was  saved  at  the  last  moment.  The  San  Antonio  came  in  on 
the  19th  and  brought  such  a  quantity  of  provisions  that  Portala  set  out  again 
by  land,  and  Father  Junipero  himself  embarked  on  the  San  Antonio,  which 
had  proved  herself  a  good  sailer  and  well  commanded,  and  anchored  in  the  bay 
of  Monterey,  namely,  on  the  31st  day  of  May,  1770,  and  found  that  the  expe- 
dition by  land  had  arrived  eight  days  before  ;  and  we  thus  see  that  the  journey 
from  San  Diego  at  that  time  was  made  quicker  by  land  than  by  water.  Father 
Juuipero  writes  that  he  found  the  lovely  port  of  Monterey  the  same  and  un- 
changed in  substance  and  in  circumstance  as  the  expedition  of  Sebastian  Viz- 
cayno left  it  in  1S03 ;  and  that  all  the  officers  of  sea  and  land,  and  all  then- 
people  assembled  in  the  same  glen  and  under  the  same  oak  where  the  Fathers 
of  Vizcayno's  expedition  had  worshipped,  and  there  arranged  their  altar,  hung 
up  and  rung  their  bells,  sung  the  Vcni  Creator,  blessed  the  holy  water,  set 
up  and  blessed  the  cross  and  the  royal  standards,  concluding  with  a  Te  Deum. 
And  there  flie  name  of  Christ  was  again  spoken  for  the  first  time  after  an 
interval  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  of  silence.  After 


282  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

the  religious  ceremonies  were  over,  the  officers  went  through  the  act  of  taking 
possession  of  the  country  "  in  the  name  of  our  lord  the  King." 

When  this  news  was  received  at  the  city  of  Mexico  it  created  a  profound 
impression.  At  the  request  of  the  Viceroy  the  bells  of  the  cathedral  were  rung, 
and  those  of  all  the  other  churches  answered ;  people  ran  about  the  streets  to 
tell  one  another  the  story,  and  all  the  distinguished  persons  at  the  capital  waited 
upon  the  Viceroy,  who,  in  company  with  Gralvez,  received  their  congratulations 
at  the  palace ;  and  that  not  only  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  but  also 
those  of  all  New  Spain  might  participate  in  the  general  joy,  the  Viceroy  caused 
a  narrative  of  the  great  achievement  to  be  printed ;  and  which,  indeed,  was  cir- 
culated throughout  old  as  well  as  New  Spain.  It  commences  by  referring  to 
the  costly  and  repeated  expeditions  which  were  made  by  the  Crown  of  Spain 
during  the  two  preceding  centuries  to  explore  the  western  coast  of  California 
and  to  occupy  the  important  port  of  Monterey,  which  now,  it  says,  has  been 
most  happily  accomplished;  and  it  is  jubilant  throughout.  Nothing  of  this  sort 
occurred  when  they  heard  a  short  time  before  of  the  discovery  of  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco  ;  and  in  this  authoritative  relation  it  is  not  even  mentioned. 

Governor  Portala,  with  the  engineer  Constanzo,  very  soon  returned  to  Mexico 
in  the  good  ship  San  Antonio,  and  carried  themselves  the  tidings  of  their  suc- 
cess. We  may  imagine  what  a  description  they  gave  when  we  remember  that 
they  left  San  Diego  about  the  middle  of  April,  and  that"  at  that  season 
the  country  through  which  they  passed  to  Monterey  -was  mottled  all  over 
with  the  brightest  and  most  varied  colors.  They  were  the  first  to  behold 
a  California  spring  in  all  its  boundless  profusion  of  flowers.  When  they 
were  gone  there  remained  only  Father  Junipero  Serra  and  five  priests, 
and  the  Lieutenant  Pedro  Fages  and  thirty  soldiers  in  all  California ;  for  the 
captain,  Rivera  y  Moncada,  with  nineteen  soldiers,  the  muleteers  and  vaqueros, 
was  at  this  time  absent  too,  in  Lower  California,  whither  he  had  gone  to  bring 
up  a  band  of  two  hundred  cattle  and  provisions.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine 
anything  more  lonely  and  secluded  than  their  situation  here,  at  the  time  the 
bells  were  ringing  so  joyfully  in  Mexico  on  their  account.  Very  soon,  how- 
ever, they  began  to  get  on  good  terms  with  the  Indians,  for  Father  Junipero 
wa3  not  a  man  to  lose  any  time  in  beginning  his  work.  And  when  they  came 
to  understand  one  another,  the  Indians  there,  under  the  pines,  told  them  awful 
tales  about  the  cross  which  Portala  had  set  up  the  year  before  when  he  stopped 
at  Monterey  without  knowing  the  place ;  how  when  they  first  saw  the  whites 
they  noticed  that  each  one  carried  a  shining  cross  upon  his  breast ;  and  how 
they  were  so  terrified  when  they  found  the  whites  had  gone  and  had  left  that 
large  one  standing  on  the  shore  that  at  first  they  dared  not  approach  it ;  that  at 
night  it  shone  with  dazzling  splendor,  and  would  rise  and  grow  until  it  seemed 
to  reach  the  skies ;  and  how,  seeing  nothing  of  this  sort  about  it  in  the  day 
time,  and  that  it  was  only  of  its  proper  size,  they  had  at  last  taken  courage  and 
gone  up  to  it,  and  to  make  friends  with  it,  had  stuck  arrows  and  feathers  around 
it  in  the  earth,  and  had  hung  strings  of  sardines  on  its  arms,  as  the  Spaniards 
had  found  on  their  return.  For  the  truth  of  this  story  the  prudent  father 
would  not  vouch,  but  they  were  still  willing  to  regard  it  as  an  omen,  and  to 
attribute  to  it  their  easy  success  in  converting  the  natives  of  those  parts,  as 
Father  Junipero  wrote  to  the  Viceroy  for  his  edification  and  encouragement. 
Father  Junipero  soon  removed  his  mission  from  Monterey  to  a  more  suitable 
place  close  by,  on  the  river  Carmelo.  This  was  his  own  mission,  where  he 
always  resided  when  not  engaged  in  founding  or  visiting  other  missions,  or  in 
some  other  duty  appertaining  to  his  office  of  president  of  the  missions  of  Upper 
California.  This  high  office  he  held  for  the  first  fifteen  years  of  the  history  of 
California,  and  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  his  mission  of  Carmel  on  the 
28th  of  August,  1784.  His  activity  and  zeal  in  the  conversion  and  civilization 
of  savages  are  really  wonderful,  and  scarcely  intelligible  to  us.  The  sight  of 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  283 

a  band  of  Indians  filled  him  with  as  much  delight  as  at  this  day  a  man  feels 
at  the  prospect  of  making  a  fortune.  He  regarded  them  as  so  many  souls  that 
he  was  to  save ;  and  the  baptism  of  an  Indian  baby  filled  him  with  transport. 
With  what  sort  of  a  spirit  he  worked  for  these  creatures  you  see  pleasantly 
exhibited  in  the  foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Antonio  de  Padua,  some 
twenty  or  thirty  leagues  below  Monterey.  With  an  escort,  a  couple  of  priests, 
and  a  pack  train  carrying  all  the  necessary  articles  for  a  new  church,  he  goes 
off  into  the  mountains,  examines  all  the  hollows,  and  selects  a  beautiful  little 
plain,  through  which  flowed  a  small  river.  Here  he  orders  the  mules  to  be 
unpacked,  and  the  bells  to  be  hung  upon  a  tree,  and  as  soon  as  that  is  done 
he  seizes  the  rope  and  begins  to  ring,  crying  out  at  the  same  time  at  the  top  of 
his  voice,  "Hear !  hear!  oh  ye  gentiles!  Come  to  the  holy  church !  Come 
to  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ!"  Father  Pe'yras,  who  was  with  him,  remon- 
strates, "What  do  you  stop  for?  Is  not  this  the  place  for  the  church,  and  are 
there  no  gentiles  in  the  neighborhood?"  " Let  me  alone,"  says  Father  Juni- 
pero;  "Let  me  unburthen  my  heart,  which  could  wish  this  bell  should  be 
heard  by  all  the  world,  or  at  least  by  all  the  gentiles  in  these  mountains" — and 
so  he  rang  away  there  in  the  wilderness. 

The  missions  of  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara  were  not  founded  for  several 
years  after  the  occupation  of  Monterey.  The  wants  of  the  new  missions  of 
his  jurisdiction  induced  the  Reverend  Father  President  Junipero  to  take  a 
journey  to  Mexico  to  see  the  Viceroy  in  person,  and  although  he  succeeded  to 
his  satisfaction  in  other  things,  it  was  only  after  much  entreaty  that  he  obtained 
a  promise  that  these  two  missions  should  be  established  after  communication 
was  opened  by  land.  This  was  done  by  Captain  Juan  Bautista  Ariza,  in  1773, 
whilst  Father  Junipero  was  absent  on  his  visit  to  Mexico.  [NoTE. — A  grand- 
daughter of  Captain  Juan  Bautista  Anza  is  now  living  in  this  city.  She  is  the 
wife  of  Don  Manuel  Ainsa,  and  the  mother  of  a  large  family  of  great- 
grandchildren of  the  first  pioneer  who  came  to  Upper  California,  direct 
from  Mexico  by  land.]  He  made  his  report  to  the  Viceroy  in  1774,  and  cartie 
back  again  with  a  considerable  number  of  soldiers  and  families  in  1776.  In  the 
mean  time,  in  anticipation  of  his  arrival,  the  San  Carlos  was  sent  up  to  examine 
the  port  of  San  Francisco,  and  ascertain  whether  it  could  be  really  entered  by 
a  channel  or  mouth  which  had  been  seen  from  the  land.  This  great  problem 
was  satisfactorily  solved  by  the  San  Carlos,  a  ship  of  perhaps  some  two  hun- 
dred tons  burden  at  the  very  utmost,  in  the  month  of  June,  1775.  When  she 
entered  they  reported  that  they  found  a  land-locked  sea,  with  two  arms,  one 
making  into  the  interior  about  fifteen  leagues  to  the  southeast,  another  three, 
four",  or  may  be  five  leagues  to  the  north,  where  there  was  a  large  bay,  about 
ten  leagues  across  and  of  a  round  figure,  into  which  emptied  the  great  river  of 
our  father,  St.  Francis,  which  was  fed  by  five  other  rivers,  all  of  them  copious 
streams,  flowing  through  a  plain  so  wide  that  it  was  bounded  only  by  the  hori- 
zon, and  meeting  to  form  the  said  great  river ;  and  all  this  immensity  of  water 
discharging  itself  through  the  said  channel  or  mouth  into  the  Pacific  ocean, 
which  is  there  called  the  Gulf  of  the  Farallones.  This  very  striking  descrip- 
tion was  accurate  enough  for  the  purposes  of  that  day  ;  and  as  soon  as  Anza 
and  his  people  had  arrived,  and  Anza  in  person  had  gone  up  and  selected  the 
sites,  a  party  was  sent  by  land  and  another  by  sea  to  establish  the  presidio  and 
mission  of  San  Francisco.  The  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  presidio  is  the 
17th  of  September,  and  of  the  mission  the  9th  of  October,  1776.  The  historian 
mentions  in  connection  with  these  proceedings  some  things  which  may  claim  a 
moment's  attention.  In  the  Valley  of  San  Jose,  the  party  coming  up  by  land 
saw  some  animals  which  they  took  for  cattle,  though  they  could  not  imagine 
where  they  came  from;  and,  supposing  they  were  wild  and  would  scatter  the 
tame  ones  they  were  driving,  the  soldiers  made  after  them  and  succeeded  in 
killing  three,  which  were  so  large  that  a  mule  could  with  difficulty  carry  one, 


284  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES. 

being  of  the  size  of  an  ox,  and  with  horns  like  those  of  a  deer,  but  so  long  that 
their  tips  were  eight  feet  apart.  This  was  their  first  view  of  the  elk.  The 
soldiers  made  the  observation  that  they  could  not  run  against  the  wind  by  reason 
of  these  monstrous  antlers.  And  after  the  presidio,  and  before  the  mission  was 
established,  an  exploration  of  the  interior  was  organized,  as  usual,  by  sea  and 
land.  Point  San  Pablo  was  given  as  the  rendezvous ;  but  the  captain  of  the 
presidio,  who  undertook  in  person  to  lead  the  land  party,  failed  to  appear  there, 
having,  with  the  design  to  shorten  the  distance,  entered  a  Canada  somewhere 
near  the  head  of  the  bay,  which  took  him  over  to  the  San  Joaquin  river ;  so  he 
discovered  that  stream. 

Then  there  are  some  traits  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  place,  the  primitive 
San  Franciscans.  They  lived  upon  muscles  and  acorns,  blackberries,  straw- 
berries, and  fish,  and  delighted  above  all  things  in  the  blubber  of  whales,  when 
one  was  stranded  on  the  coast.  They  wore  no  clothes  at  all,  at  least  the  men, 
and  the  women  very  little;  but  they  were  not  ashamed.  They  found  it  cold 
all  the  year  round,  as  did  the  fathers  who  first  took  charge  of  the  mission,  and 
to  protect  themselves,  were  in  the  habit  of  plastering  their  bodies  with  mud.  They 
said  it  kept  them  warm.  Their  marriages  were  very  informal,  the  ceremony  consist- 
ing in  the  consent  alone  of  the  parties;  and  their  law  of  divorce  was  equally  simple, 
for  they  separated  as  soon  as  they  quarrelled,  and  joined  themselves  to  another, 
the  children  usually  folio  wing  the  mother.  They  had  no  other  expression  to  signify 
that  the  marriage  was  dissolved  than  to  say,  "I  have  thrown  her  away," 
or  "I  have  thrown  him  away."  And  in  some  of  their  customs  they  seemed  to 
have  been  Mormons.  In  their  marriages  affinity  was  not  regarded  as  an  objec- 
tion, but  rather  an  inducement.  They  preferred  to  marry  their  sisters-in-law, 
and  even  their  mothers-in-law;  and  the  rule  was,  if  a  man  married  a  woman,  he 
also  married  all  her  sisters,  having  many  wives  who  lived  together,  without 
jealousy,  in  the  same  house,  and  treated  each  other's  children  with  the  same  love  as 
their  own.  Father  Junipero's  death  closes  the  first  period  of  our  history.  It  is  a 
period  marked  by  exploits.  They  are  those  of  humble  and  devoted,  yet  heroic 
missionaries.  The  story  is  diversified  with  only  such  simple  incidents  as  that,  in  the 
summer  of  1772,  the  commander,  Pedro  Fages,  had  to  go  out  and  kill  bears  for 
provisions  to  subsist  on,  which  formidable  game  he  found  in  abundance  some- 
where near  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  a  Canada  that  still  justly  bears  the  name  of 
Canada  de  los  Osos  :  and  that  in  1780  the  frost  killed  the  growing  grain  at 
Easter.  And  only  one  instance  of  bloodshed  attended  the  happy  course  of  the 
spiritual  conquest.  The  vicious  Indians  of  San  Diego,  on  a  second  attempt, 
murdered  one  of  the  fathers  and  two  or  three  other  persons,  and  burned  the 
mission,  which  some  little  time  afterwards  was  re-established.  We  are  told 
that  they  were  prompted  to  this  deed  by  the  enemy  of  souls,  who  was  very 
much  incensed  at  finding  his  party  falling  into  a  minority  by  reason  of  the  con- 
stant conversions  of  the  heathen  in  that  neighborhood.  All  the  seeds  that 
Galvez  was  so  provident  in  sending  up  took  root  and  prospered  beyond  the 
most  sanguine  expectations  which  he  could  have  entertained  when  he  predicted 
that  the  soil  would  prove  as  fertile  as  that  of  old  Spain ;  and  the  cattle  in- 
creased and  multiplied  with  an  increase  without  a  parallel,  so  that  in  short  time 
his  purpose,  that  there  should  be  no  lack  of  something  to  eat  in  this  country, 
was  fully  accomplished. 

Our  historian  is  the  friar,  Father  Francisco  Palou,  one  of  the  followers  of 
Father  Junipero,  whose  life,  like  a  devout  disciple,  he  wrote  here  at  the  mission 
of  San  Francisco.  He  was  the  first  priest  who  had  charge  of  this  mission,  and 
his  book  was  written  here  in  1785.  It  was  printed  in  the  city  of  Mexico  in 
1787.  It  is  the  first,  undoubtedly,  out  not  the  worst  book  written  in  California. 
Copies  of  the  original  edition  may  be  found  in  some  private  libraries  of  this 
city,  bound  in  sheepskin,  clasped  with  loops  and  buttons  of  the  same,  and  with 
a  long  list  of  errata  at  the  end.  This  volume  is  of  itself  an  object  of  interest. 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  285 

To  the  work  there  is  a  preface  which  bespeaks  the  indulgence  of  the  reader, 
because  it  was  written  among  "barbarous  gentiles,  in  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  his  new  mission,  the  most  northern  of  New  California,  without  books 
or  men  of  learning  to  consult."  There  are  also  the  reports  of  several  censors, 
and  both  a  civil  and  ecclesiastical  license  to  print  it,  and  likewise  a  protest,  of 
which  ihe  writer  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  at  this  day.  He  declares,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  Church,  the  Inquisition,  and  the  Pope,  that  he  intends  and  de- 
sires that  no  more  faith  should  be  given  to  his  performance  than  to  a  mere 
human  history,  and  that  the  epithets  he  gives  Father  Junipero,  and  the  title  of 
martyrs  which  he  bestowed  on  some  of  the  other  missionaries,  are  to  be  under- 
stood as  mere  human  honors,  and  such  as  are  permitted  by  a  prudent  discretion 
and  a  devout  faith.  The  narrative  is  clear  and  circumstantial,  well  supported 
by  public  and  private  writings,  and  obviously  true.  The  miraculous  is  always 
introduced  as  hearsay,  and,  whilst  it  does  not  impeach  the  veracity  of  the  writer, 
serves  still  further  to  illustrate  the  times  by  showing  us  the  simple  credulity  of 
the  class  to  which  he  belonged — the  founders  and  first  settlers  of  California. 
With  the  book  there  is  a  map.  It  exhibits  the  coast  of  Upper  California  from 
San  Diego  to  San  Francisco.  The  only  objects  visible  on  it  are  nine  missions 
and  a  dotted  line,  to  show  the  road  that  the  fathers  travelled  from  one  to  the 
other,  viz  :  San  Diego,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  San  Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura, 
San  Luis,  (Obispo,)  San  Antonio,  San  Carlos  de  Monterey,  Santa  Clara,  San 
Francisco,  and  three  presidios,  Monterey,  Santa  Barbara,  and  San  Diego,  all 
lying  near  the  coast,  and  back  all  a  blank.  Looking  upon  this  old  map,  we  re- 
alize that  California  was  designed  for  the  Indians.  They  were  to  be  its  people 
after  they  were  converted  and  instructed  as  others  had  been  in  Mexico.  The 
missions  were  to  be  the  towns.  The  presidios  were  to  protect  the  missions  within, 
and  defend  the  country  from  enemies  without.  Only  enough  settlers  were  to 
be  introduced  to  relieve  the  government  from  some  part  of  the  burden  of  sup- 
plying the  presidios  with  recruits  and*  provisions  from  Mexico.  For  this  pur- 
pose, pueblos  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe  and  Los  Angeles,  one  in  the  north  and  the 
other  in  the  south,  were  established,  both  in  the  time  of  Father  Junipero  Serra. 
A  small  tract  of  land  was  given  to  these  villages  for  their  use  collectively,  and 
smaller  parcels  to  each  inhabitant  as  his  private  property.  Neither  of  these 
pueblos  appear  on  this  old  map,  of  such  little  consequence  were  they  regarded. 
Father  Palou,  in  relating  the  rejoicings  at  Mexico  in  consequence  of  the  discov- 
ery of  Monterey,  says  :  '•  The  said  extent  of  three  hundred  leagues  in  length" — 
an  accurate  measurement  of  the  new  dominions  of  the  king  in  Upper  Cal- 
ifornia— "is  of  fertile  lands,  peopled  with  an  immensity  of  gentiles,  from  whose 
docile  and  peaceable  dispositions  it  was  hoped  they  would  be  immediately  con- 
verted to  our  holy  faith,  and  gathered  in  Catholic  pueblos,  (villages,)  that  thus 
living  in  subjection  to  the  royal  crown  they  might  secure  the  coasts  of  this 
Southern  or  lDacific  ocean."  The  first  grant  of  land  made  in  California  was  a 
tract  of  one  hundred  and  forty  varas  square,  at  the  mission  of  San  Carlos, 
November  27,  1775,  to  one  Manuel  Butron,  a  soldier,  in  consideration  that  he 
had  married  Margarita,  a  daughter  of  that  mission.  Father  Junipero  recom- 
mends this  family,  to  wit,  the  soldier  and  the  native  Indian  woman,  to  the 
government,  and  all  the  other  ministers  of  the  king,  "  as  being  the  first  in  all 
these  establishments  which  have  chosen  to  become  permanent  settlers  of  the 
same."  The  Indian  appears  in  everything. 

In  tranquillity  this  California  of  the  Indians  remained  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  The  fathers  built  new  missions,  and  continually  replenished  their  stock 
of  converts,  which  at  one  time  amounted  to  at  least  twenty  thousand.  They 
planted  vineyards,  orchards,  and  the  olive.  They  taught  the  Indians,  to  some 
extent,  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  They  made  flour,  and  wine,  and 
cloth,  and  soap,  and  leather,  adobes  and  tiles,  and  with  their  villages  of  disciples 
about  them,  lived  at  ease  as  well  as  in  peace.  There  was  but  one  obstacle  in 


286  -      EESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

their  way.  A  great  law  of  nature  rose  up  to  oppose  them.  The  Indian  of 
California  was  not  equal  to  those  of  Mexico.  He  was  but  a  brute.  The  time 
never  came  when  he  could  be  enfranchised  and  trusted  to  himself,  and  con- 
verted into  a  Spanish  subject  as  so  many  races  had  been  further  south.  The 
fathers  must  continue  to  hold  their  converts  in  subjection,  or  they  would  return 
to  the  heathen  state,  or  even  worse  would  befall  them.  If  the  world  could  have 
afforded  to  devote  a  paradise  to  such  a  purpose,  and  for  the  Indian,  certainly  it 
would  have  been  well  if  the  missions  could  have  lasted  forever.  I  will  endeavor 
to  present  some  of  the  features  and  some  of  the  events  of  this  Indian  period,  as 
briefly  as  possible.  And  here,  for  whatever  of  interest  I  may  be  able  to  awaken 
in  the  subject,  I  shall  be  indebted  to  Mr.  R.  C.  Hopkins,  the  accomplished  and 
learned  gentleman  who  has  charge  of  the  Spanish  archives  in  the  surveyor 
general's  office. 

An  American  audience  will  of  course  desire  to  know  something  of  the  form 
of  the  political  government.  Constitution  or  charter  there  was  none.  The 
government  was  purely  military,  outside  of  the  missions.  All  functions,  civil 
and  military,  judicial  and  economical,  were  united  in  the  person  of  the  com- 
mandante  of  a  presidio,  in  due  subjection  to  his  superior,  and  so  on  up  to  the 
king,  an  autocrat,  whose  person  was  represented  and  whose  will  was  executed 
in  every  part  of  his  dominions.  In  the  archives  is  to  be  found  a  reglamento, 
which,  as  the  name  imports,  is  a  set  of  regulations  for  the  peninsula  of  the 
Californias,  Lower  and  Upper.  Its  caption  expresses  that  it  is  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  presidios,  the  promotion  of  the  erection  of  new  missions,  and  of  the 
population  and  extension  of  the  establishments  of  Monterey.  It  was  drafted 
at  Monterey  by  the  governor,  in  1779,  sent  to  Madrid,  and  approved  by  the 
king  in  1781.  When  examined,  it  is  found  to  adopt  the  royal  reglamento  for 
the  government  of  all  the  presidios,  with  such  small  variations  as  the  circum- 
stances of  California  required.  There  are  minute  provisions  for  paying,  cloth- 
ing, and  feeding  the  officers  and  troops,  and  for  supporting  the  families  of  the 
troops,  and  other  persons  dependent  on  the  presidios.  The  number  of  pack 
mules  to  be  kept  at  the  presidios,  and  how  the  horses  are  to  be  pastured,  and 
that  four  are  always  to  be  kept  in  the  presidio  ready  saddled  by  day,  and 
eight  by  night,  is  prescribed.  Another  pueblo  was  to  be  founded,  as  was  done, 
namely,  Los  Angeles.  The  pueblo  of  San  Jose  had  already  been  founded,  two 
years  before.  The  intent  of  these  pueblos  is  declared  to  be  to  fulfil  the  pious 
designs  of  the  King  for  converting  the  gentiles,  and  to  secure  his  dominions. 
At  that  date,  says  the  reglamento,  the  country  was  filled,  from  San  Diego  to 
Monterey,  with  an  immense  number  of  gentiles,  and  only  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  forty -nine  Christians,  of  both  sexes,  in  the  eight  'missions,  strung 
along  through  all  that  distance.  The  manner  in  which  pueblos  are  to  be 
founded  is  given ;  each  settler  to  have  his  building  lot  and  sowing  field  of 
two  hundred  varas  square,  that  being  supposed  to  be  enough  to  sow 
two  bushels  of  grain ;  and  the  whole  together  to  have  commons  for  waod, 
water,  and  pasturage;  also  a  certain  number  of  horses,  mules,  oxen,  cows, 
sheep,  chickens,  ploughs,  hoes,  axes,  &c.,  are  to  be  furnished  to  each ;  and  the 
amount  of  pay — for  a  settler  had  his  salary  for  a  little  while  as  well  as  his 
outfit — his  exemptions,  and  his  obligations,  are  all  minutely  detailed.  Of  the 
first  we  observe,  that  for  the  first  five  years  he  is  to  be  free  from  the  payment  of 
tithes  ;  of  the  latter,  that  all  the  excess  of  his  productions  beyond  his  support 
he  must  sell  at  a  fixed  price  to  the  presidios,  and  that  he  must  keep  a  horse  and 
saddle,  carbine  and  lance,  and  hold  himself  in  readiness  for  the  service  of  the 
king.  Also,  we  note  that  the  building  lot  is  a  homestead,  and  cannot  be  alien- 
ated or  mortgaged,  and  descends  to  the  son  or  (in  default  of  a  son,  I  suppose) 
to  the  daughter,  provided  she  is  married  to  a  settler  who  is  without  a  lot  of  his 
own ;  and  that  after  the  first  five  years  are  past,  each  settler  and  his  descendants 
must,  in  recognition  of  the  absolute  property  of  the  King,  pay  a  rent  of  one-half 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  287 

fanega  of  corn  for  his  sowing  lot.  The  only  trace  of  a  political  right  that  we 
find  in  the  reglamento  is  the  allowance  to  the  pueblos  of  alcaldes,  and  other 
municipal  officers,  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  for  the  first  two  years,  and 
afterwards  to  be  elected  by  the  inhabitants.  These  officers  were  to  see  to  the 
good  government  and  police  of  the  pueblos  and  the  administration  of  justice,  to 
direct  the  public  works,  apportion  to  each  man  his  share  of  the  water  for  irriga- 
tion, and  generally  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the  reglamento.  This,  perhaps, 
was  as  much  as  they  ought. to  have  had,  for  we  see  in  the  proceedings  on  the 
foundation  of  San  Jose,  that  neither  the  alcalde  nor  any  one  of  the  eight  other  set- 
tlers could  sign  his  name.  As  a  check  upon  the  abuse  of  their  privileges  the 
elections  were  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  governor,  who  had  also  the  power 
to  continue  to  appoint  the  officers  for  three  years  longer,  if  he  found  it  necessary. 

At  first  California  formed  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain,  and  was  gov- 
erned directly  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico.  In  1776  it  was  attached  to  the  com- 
mandancia  general  of  the  internal  provinces,  which  included  also  Sonora,  New 
Mexico,  Chihuahua,  Coahuila,  and  Texas.  Afterwards  it  was  a  part  of  the 
commandancia  general  of  the  internal  provinces  of  the  west,  when  Coahuila  and 
Texas,  New  Leon  and  the  Colony  of  New  Santander  had  been  erected  into 
another  jurisdiction,  under  the  title  of  the  internal  provinces  of  the  east.  The 
commandante  general  seems  to  have  had  no  fixed  residence,  but  to  have  gone 
from  place  to  place,  wherever  his  presence  might  be  wanted,  and  so  his  orders 
are  sometimes  dated  from  Arispe  and  sometimes  from  Chihuahua,  both  of  which 
now  obscure  places  may  be  said  in  their  time  to  have  been  the  capital  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  Apache  and  Comanche  Indian  has  watered  his  horse  in  their  plazas 
since  then.  This  arrangement  did  not  last  many  years,  and  California  reverted 
to  the  Viceroy  again.  Laws  came  from  the  King,  in  his  council  of  the  Indies, 
at  Madrid,  as  orders  are  issued  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  an  army;  to  the 
second  in  command,  to  wit,  the  Viceroy  at  Mexico,  from  him  to  his  next  in  rank, 
we  will  say  the  commandante  general  at  Arispe  or  Chihuahua,  from  him  to  the 
governor  of  California  at  Monterey,  and  from  him  to  the  captain  or  lieutenant 
in  command  of  a  presidio.  They  took  effect  only  as  they  were  published, 
spreading  as  the  courier  advanced,  and  from  place  to  place  in  succession,  like  a 
wave,  from  centre  to  circumference.  They  came  slowly,  but  in  time  every  order 
of  a  general  nature  would  find  its  way  into  the  archives  of  every  province, 
presidio,  or  pueblo  in  North  and  South  America,  and  of  every  island  of  the  ocean 
which  owned  the  dominion  of  the  King  of  Spain.  The  archives  of  this  State 
contain  a  great  many,  and  their  counterparts  are  to  be  looked  for  in  every  public 
office,  from  Havana  to  Manilla,  and  from  Chihuahua  to  Valparaiso.  When  wars, 
or  the  accidents  of  navigation,  or  the  urgency  of  the  case,  interrupted  or  ren- 
dered impossible  communication  with  Madrid,  each  viceregent  of  the  King  in 
his  department  exercised  the  royal  authority.  Therefore,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
the  powers  of  every  governor  in  his  province  were  practically  despotic.  And 
not  only  the  laws,  but  every  other  expression  of  the  wishes  of  the  King  were 
transmitted  in  the  same  way,  travelled  through  the  same  circuitous  channels,  and 
were  received,  and  published,  and  executed  with  the  same  dignity  and  formality. 
Here  is  an  example  from  the  archives  : 

The  King  heard  that  the  neighborhood  of  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco 
abounded  with  deer  of  a  very  superior  quality,  and  desiring  to  have  some  for 
his  park,  issued  an  order  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  who  in  his  turn  ordered  the 
commandante  general  of  the  internal  provinces  of  the  west,  who  despatched  an 
order  to  the  governor  of  the  province  of  California,  who  ordered  the  captain  of 
the  presidio  of  San  Francisco,  who  finally  ordered  a  soldier  to  go  out  and  catch 
the  deer,  two  years  after  the  order  was  given  by  the  King  at  Madrid.  Allow- 
ing a  reasonable  time  for  the  hunt,  and  for  sending  the  animals  to  Spain,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  King  had  to  wait  some  time  for  the  gratification  of  his  royal 
wishes. 


288  EESOURCES   OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

Another  instance,  and  the  more  striking,  as  the  subject-matter  belongs  to  the 
latitude  of  the  equator,  and  as  it  serves  to  illustrate  that  the  arbitrary  govern- 
ment of  his  Catholic  Majesty  was  paternal  and  thoughtful  as  well,  I  give  a 
translation  of  the  original,  complete  : 

Jacobo  Ugarte  y  Loyola,  commandante  general  of  the  internal  provinces, 
writes  to  Pedro  Fages,  governor  of  California,  as  follows : 

"  ARISPE,  April  22,  1787. 

"  On  the  20th  of  November  last  past,  his  excellency  the  marquis  of  Sonora, 
(Viceroy  of  Mexico,)  was  pleased  to  communicate  to  me  the  following  royal 
order  : 

" « The  archbishop,  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  (in  South  America,)  on  the  2d  of 
July  last,  gave  me  an  account  of  a  remedy  happily  discovered  by  his  confessor, 
against  the  ravages  of  the  jigger  (nigua)  in  the  hot  countries  of  America,  which 
consists  in  annointing  the  parts  affected  by  the  jiggers  with  cold  olive  oil,  which 
causes  them  to  die,  and  the  sacs  containing  them  can  be  easily  extracted — 
which  the  King  desires  should  be  published  as  a  bando  (proclamation)  in  the 
district  under  your  government,  in  order  that  it  may  reach  the  notice  of  all ; 
and  you  shall  take  care  that  all  those  who  are  afflicted  with  said  insect  shall 
use  said  remedy,  which  is  as  effectual  as  it  is  simple.' 

"  And  I  insert  the  same  to  you  in  order  that  you  may  cause  it  to  be  pub- 
lished. May  God  preserve  your  life  many  years. 

"JACOBO  UGARTE  Y  LOYOLA." 

And  so  this  valuable  specific  was  made  known  by  a  public  crier  and  with  a 
roll  of  drums,  all  the  world  over,  even  here  in  California,  where  the  troublesome 
insect  is  fortunately  unknown. 

The  couriers,  who  were  the  overland  mail  of  that  day,  on  leaving,  for  in- 
stance, Monterey,  received  a  certificate  from  the  commandante  of  the  presidio 
that  he  started  at  a  certain  hour ;  on  his  arrival  at  the  next  stopping  place  he 
presented  his  certificate  to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  place,  who  noted  the 
hour  of  his  arrival  and  departure,  and  so  on  at  all  the  stopping  places  between 
Monterey  and  La  Paz,  in  Lower  California;  so  that  if  the  mail  carrier  loitered 
on  the  way  his  way-bill  would  show  it.  Such  way-bills  from  Monterey  to  La 
Paz,  with  all  these  memoranda  on  them,  may  be  found  in  the  archives.  It  was 
the  unfortunate  mail  rider,  and  not  the  government,  that  people  were  in  the 
habit  of  blaming  in  those  days.  These  way-bills  show  that  he  made  the  dis- 
tance from  San  Francisco  to  San  Diego  in  five  days.  Quiet  old  days  !  But 
little  of  a  public  sort  was  doing  then  in  California.  There  was  a  dispute  that 
amounted  to  something  like  a  law  suit  between  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  and 
the  pueblo  of  San  Jose.  It  commenced  from  the  very  day  of  the  establishment 
of  the  latter.  Father  Junipero  objected  to  the  pueblo  being  so  near  the  mis- 
sion, the  boundary  as  at  first  established  running  about  half  way  between  the 
two  places.  The  governor  was  obstinate  and  Father  Junipero  desired  that  his 
protest  might  be  entered  in  the  proceedings  of  the  foundation,  which  the  gover- 
nor refused.  The  controversy  by  no  means  died  out ;  the  head  of  the  college 
of  San  Fernando  at  Mexico,  to  which  all  the  Franciscans  of  California  belonged, 
brought  it  before  the  Viceroy,  praying  him  not  to  allow  the  Indians  and  mis- 
sionaries to  be  molested  by  the  pueblo.  The  governor  of  California  was  there- 
fore ordered  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  seems  to  have  settled  it  by  making 
the  river  Guadalupe  the  boundary  from  that  time  forward.  Again,  one  Mariano 
Castro  obtained  from  the  Viceroy  permission  to  settle  himself  upon  a  place  called 
La  Brea,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista;  under  this 
license  he  applied  to  the  governor  to  give  him  the  possession  of  the  land,  but 
the  priests  at  San  Juan  objected  strenuously,  alleging  that  the  place  of  La  Brea 
was  needed  by  the  mission  for  its  cattle.  This  was  represented  by  the  governor 
to  the  viceroy,  who,  in  the  end,  told  Castro  to  select  some  other  place,  and  the 


WEST   OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  289 

mission  kept  La  Brea.  We  see  with  what  jealousy,  and  how  effectively,  the 
fathers  vindicated  the  title  of  themselves  and  their  Indian  pupils  to  their 
California. 

For  a  complete  view  of  the  internal  constitution  of  California  at  that  day, 
two  facts,  which  are  exceptional  to  this  ecclesiastical  domination,  require  to  be 
noted. 

In  1791,  Pedro  Nava,  commanclante  of  the  internal  provinces  of  the  west,  in 
a  decree  dated  at  Chihuahua,  gives  to  the  captains  commanding  presidios,  or 
recognizes  as  already  existing  in  them,  authority  to  grant  building  lots  to  the 
soldiers  and  other  residents,  within  the  space  of  four  square  leagues.  I  do  not 
know,  but  presume,  that  this  power  was  exercised  at  San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara, 
and  Monterey,,  and  hence  the  origin  of  the  towns  bearing  those  names,  which, 
at  a  later  period,  come  into  view  as  such.  At  San  Francisco,  however,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  archives,  or  elsewhere,  yet  discovered,  to  show  that  such  a  grant 
was  ever  made  by  the  captain  of  the  presidio.  And  in  1795  a  commissioner 
was  appointed  under  the  orders  .of  the  viceroy  to  select  a  place  and  establish 
another  town,  who  reported  that  "  the  worst  place  or  situation  in  California  is 
that  of  San  Francisco  for  the  formation  of  a  villa,  as  proposed."  And  therefore 
the  villa  of  Branciforte,  so  called  in  honor  of  the  viceroy,  the  Marquis  of  Bran- 
ciforte,  was,  by  great  preference,  established  near  the  mission  of  Santa  Cruz. 
It  never  attained  any  consequence,  and  some  adobe  ruins  may  now  attest  its 
former  existence. 

Suspicion  and  exclusion  were  the  rule  towards  foreigners.  On  the  23d  of 
October,  1776,  the  viceroy  writes  to  the  governor  of  California:  "That  the 
king  having  received  intelligence  that  two  armed  vessels  had  sailed  from  London, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Cook,  bound  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the 
southern^ocean,  and  the  northern  coast  of  California,  commands  that  orders  be 
given  to  the  governor  of  California  to  be  on  the  watch  for  Captain  Cook,  and 
not  permit  him  to  enter  the  ports  of  California."  At  a  later  day  a  better  spirit 
prevailed  towards  Vancouver,  who  spent  some  time  in  1793  in  the  port  of 
Monterey.  We  have  a  voluminous  correspondence  of  his  with  the  governor — 
the  letters  in  English,  and  written  with  his  own  hand.  He  sets  forth  the  har- 
monious understanding  existing  between  England  and  his  Catholic  Majesty  of 
Spain,  and  their  united  efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  asks  assistance  in 
arresting  some  deserters,  and  obtaining  supplies,  &c.,  which  he  will  pay  for  with 
bills  on  London.  Instructions  had  been  previously  received  by  the  governor  to 
treat  Vancouver  well.  We  see  in  this  amiability  between  old  enemies  that  the 
great  French  revolution  was  making  itself  felt  on  this  remote  coast.  And  in 
some  of  the  letters  of  the  fathers,  of  a  little  later  period,  we  find  Napoleon 
spoken  of  as  the  great  "Luzbel,"  (Lucifer,)  for  such  he  appeared  to  their  im- 
agination in  their  missions. 

The  first  mention  of  an  American  ship  occurs  in  the  following  letter  from  the 
governor  of  California  to  the  captain  of  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco  : 

"  Whenever  there  may  arrive  at  the  port  of  San  Francisco  a  ship  named  the 
Columbia,  said  to  belong  to  General  Washington,  of  the  American  States,  com- 
manded by  John  Rendrick,  which  sailed  from  Boston  in  September,  1787,  bound 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  Russian  establishments  on  the  northern  coast 
of  this  peninsula,  you  will  cause  the  said  vessel  to  be  examined  with  caution  and 
delicacy,  using  for  this  purpose  a  small  boat  which  you  have  in  your  possession, 
and  taking  the  same  measures  with  every  other  suspicious  foreign  vessel,  giving 
me  prompt  notice  of  the  same. 

'•  May  God  preserve  your  life  many  years. 

"PEDRO  FAGES. 

"SANTA  BARBARA,  May  13,  1789. 

"To  JOSEF  ARGUELLO." 
H-  Ex.  Doc.  29 19 


290  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Twenty  years  before,  this  same  Fages  had  Bailed  on  the  San  Carlos  to  re- 
discover and  people  California.  The  San  Carlos  and  the  Columbia,  and  Fages 
the  connecting  link !  The  United  States  of  America  and  California  joined  for 
the  first  time  in  a  thought !  It  is  impossible  by  any  commentary  to  heighten  the 
interest  with  which  we  read  this  document.  Its  very  errors,  even  to  the  gover- 
nor's ignorance  of  the  geography  of  his  own  country,  are  profoundly  suggestive. 

The  Columbia  did  not  enter  the  ports  of  California,  but  made  land  further  to 
the  north,  and  discovered  the  Columbia  river. 

Fourteen  years  later,  it  would  appear  that  American  ships  were  more  fre- 
quent on  this  coast. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1803,  Josd  Argiiello,  comandante  of  the  presidio  of 
San  Francisco,  writes  to  governor  Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga  : 

"  That  on  the  first  of  the  present  month,  at  the  hour  of  evening  prayers,  two 
American  vessels  anchored  in  the  port,  (San  Francisco,)  one  named  the  Alex- 
ander, under  the  command  of  Capt.  John  Brown,  and  the  other  named  the  Aser, 
under  the  command  of  Thomas  Raben ;  that  as  soon  as  they  anchored  the  cap- 
tain came  ashore  to  ask  permission  to  get  supplies  of  wood  and  water,  when  ob- 
serving that  he  was  the  same  Brown  that  was  there  in  the  preceding  month  of 
March,  he  refused  to  give  him  permission  to  remain  in  port ;  that  on  the  day 
following,  at  six  in  the  morning,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  captain,  (or  super- 
cargo,) a  copy  of  which  he  transmits,  which  is  as  follows : 

"  PORT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO,  August  12,  1803. 
"  To  the  Senor  commandante  of  the  port : 

"Notwithstanding  your  order  for  our  immediate  departure  from  this  port,  I  am 
constrained  to  say  that  our  necessities  are  such  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  us 
to  do  so.  I  would  esteem  it  a  great  favor  if  you  would  come  aboard  and  see  for 
yourself  the  needy  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed,  for  during  the  whole 
of  the  time  we  have  been  on  the  northwest  coast  we  have  had  no  opportunity 
of  supplying  ourselves  with  wood  and  water,  the  Indians  being  so  savage  that 
we  have  not  been  able  to  hold  any  kind  of  friendly  intercourse  with  them  what- 
ever. 

"  We  had  several  fights  with  them  in  the  straits  of  Chatham ;  the  first  was 
in  the  port  of  Istiquin,  where  we  were  attacked  by  three  hundred  canoes,  each 
canoe  containing  from  ten  to  twenty-three  Indians,  each  one  with  two  or  three 
escopetas  and  their  pistols  and  spears.  Three  times  in  one  day  they  attempted 
to  take  the  ship,  but  we  defended  the  same  without  losing  any  of  our  men. 

"From  this  port  we  went  to  the  Ensenada  of  Icana,  in  said  straits,  at  which 
place  we  found  about  a  thousand  Indians  encamped,  many  of  whom  came  aboard 
our  vessel  for  purposes  of  trade,  carrying  their  arms  in  one  hand  and  their  skins 
in  the  other. 

"  After  we  had  been  four  days  in  this  port,  all  the  Indians  came  aboard,  say- 
ing that  they  were  not  afraid  of  the  Americans,  since  they  were  but  few,  while 
there  were  many  Indians,  who  had  many  arms. 

"  On  the  fifth  day  of  our  stay  in  this  port,  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
three  or  four  canoes  came  alongside  the  ship,  and,  on  being  ordered  to  leave, 
they  refused,  when  our  captain  seized  a  gun  and  fired  it  in  the  air,  on  which 
the  Indians  laughed  very  much,  saying  he  did  not  know  how  to  shoot,  and 
could  not  kill ;  whereupon  the  captain  seized  another  gun,  fired  at  and  killed 
the  Indian,  on  which  the  rest  retired  to  the  land,  and  all  of  them  went  to  a 
neighboring  island  ;  and  from  ten  o'clock  at  night  till  eight  in  the  morning  they 
made  no  further  demonstrations  against  us,  at  which  time  we  made  sail,  in  the 
mean  time  striking  upon  a  rock  and  somewhat  injuring  our  vessel. 

"  From  this  port  we  went  to  Juan  de  Fuca,  at  which  place  we  learned  from 
the  chief,  Tatacu,  that  the  chief  Quatlazepe  had  taken  the  ship  Boston ;  that 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  291 

when  the  said  vessel  had  been  some  four  days  in  port,  the  Indian  chief  and  the 
captain  of  the  ship,  having  some  difficulty  in  relation  to  trade,  the  captain  of 
the  ship  said  to  the  chief  that  he  had  traded  with  many  chiefs  to  the  north,  and 
that  he  knew  he  did  not  act  like  an  honorable  chief;  whereupon  the  chief  Pioe- 
que  replied  to  the  captain  that  he  was  a  bad  man.  At  this  the  captain 
seized  a  gun  and  ordered  him  ashore ;  whereupon  he  went  to  his  rancheria  and 
issued  an  order  for  the  assembling  of  all  the  neighboring  Indians,  from  the 
straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  to  the  point  of  Nutka,  which  were  so  assembled  within 
three  days  ;  and,  after  holding  a  council,  they  determined  to  take  the  Bos- 
ton, which  they  affected  in  the  following  manner  :  At  seven  o'cl6ck  in  the 
morning  they  went  aboard  and  asked  permission  of  the  captain  to  have  a 
dance,  as  a  ceremony  of  the  renewal  of  the  friendship  after  their  recent  dispute. 
To  which  the  captain  replied  that  he  was  willing  that  they  should  do  so.  Ac- 
.cordingly,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  company  of  chiefs  came  and  danced 
on  the  quarter-deck,  having  in  the  mean  time  ordered  their  people  to  arm  them- 
selves with  knives,  so  that  while  they  were  dancing  they  could  jump  aboard 
and  kill  the  whole  crew,  which  they  did ;  for  while  they  were  dancing  they 
made  presents  of  otter  skins  to  the  captain,  and  also  to  the  sailors,  who  in  a 
short  time  had  collected  on  the  quarter-deck,  when  suddenly  the  Indians  fell 
upon  them  in  iheir  defenceless  condition  and  butchered  all  save  two,  who  escaped 
and  concealed  themselves;  the  Indians  carrying  off  everything  that  could  be 
removed  during  the  whole  of  that  day  and  night,  and  until  twelve  o'clock  the 
following  day;  having  in  the  mean  time  discovered  the  two  hidden  sailors,  who, 
after  some  cruel  treatment,  were  handed  over  to  the  chief,  who  spared  their  lives, 
and  they  are  now  at  that  place.  On  the  following  day  the  ship  was  beached, 
and  her  decks  and  part  of  the  cargo  burnt  Quatlazape  has  made  a  fortification 
at  the  place  where  the  Spaniards  were  established. 

"  This  is  all  the  account  I  am  able  to  give  of  the  matter,  and  I  pray  you,  in 
the  name  of  Grod,  to  come  aboard  our  ship  and  see  the  needv  circumstances  in 
which  we  are  placed,  destitute  of  wood  and  water,  and  our  vessel  needing  repairs. 
Trusting  in  your  Christian  charity,  and  that  of  your  nation,  we  hope  to  be  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  this  port  the  time  necessary  to  obtain  supplies  and  make  re- 
pairs, since  otherwise  we  shall  certainly  lose  our  ship. 

"  God  preserve  your  life  many  years. 

"JAMES  ROWAN." 

Times  have  changed,  and  Yankee  captains  are  not  now  so  meek  in  the  port  of 
San  Francisco.  We  do  not  know  what  John  Brown  had  been  doing  in  March, 
nor  can  we  vouch  for  the  truth  of  all  the  particulars  of  their  adventures  on  the 
northwest  coast,  especially  not  for  the  number  of  escopetas  and  other  arms  car- 
ried by  each  Indian.  The  loss  of  the  Boston  was  doubtless  communicated  to 
her  owners  and  the  public  by  John  Brown  and  Thomas  Rab(v)en  on  their  return 
to  the  United  States.  The  guardians  of  this  port  do  not  note  now  the  arrival 
of  foreign  ships  by  the  hour  of  evening  prayers.  There  was  a  contrast  of 
national  habits  then  between  the^shore  and  the  Yankee  ships;  and  the  same 
contrast  exists  undiminished  between  the  California  of  1803  and  1860.  From 
time  to  time  other  American  vessels,  traders  to  the  northwest  coast,  and  whalers, 
are  said  to  have  occasionally  entered  these  waters,  but  at  it  was  a  Spanish  colony 
there  could  be  no  American  commerce;  anditAvas  after  the  independence,  there- 
fore, that  the  hide  trade  sprung  up. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  century  earthquakes  make  their  appearance  for  the 
first  time  of  record  in  the  archives,  and  with  startling  effect.  I  prefer,  on  this 
subject,  to  give  the  words  of  the  contemporaneous  documents  : 


292  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Account  of  earthquake  at  San  Juan  Bauti.ita,  as  given  in  letter  of  the  captain 
of  the  Presidio  of  Monterey,  to  Governor  ArriUaga,  on  the  3lst  of  October, 
1800. 

"  MONTEREY,  October  31,  1800. 

"  I  have  to  inform  your  excellency  that  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista 
since  the  llth  instant  has  been  visited  by  severe  earthquakes;  that  Pedro  Adri- 
ano  Martinez,  one  of  the  fathers  of  said  mission,  has  informed  me  that  during 
one  day  there  were  six  severe  shocks;  that  there  is  not  a  single  habitation, 
although  built  with  double  walls,  that  has  not  been  injured  from  roof  to  founda- 
tion, and  that  all  are  threatened  with  ruin  ;  and  that  the  fathers  are  compelled 
to  sleep  in  the  wagons  to  avoid  danger  since  the  houses  are  not  habitable.  At 
the  place  where  the  rancheria  is  situated  some  small  openings  have  been  ob- 
served in  the  earth,  and  also  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Pajaro  there  is 
another  deep  opening,  all  resulting  from  the  earthquakes.  These  phenomena 
have  filled  the  fathers  and  the  inhabitants  of  that  mission  with  consternation. 

"  The  Lieutenant  Don  Raymundo  Carillo  has  assured  me  the  same,  for  on  the 
18th  he  stopped  for  the  night  at  this  mission  (San  Juan)  on  his  journey  from 
San  Jose,  and  being  at  supper  with  one  of  the  fathers,  a  shock  was  felt  so  pow- 
erful and  attended  with  such  a  loud  noise  as  to  deafen  them,  when  they  fled  to 
the  court  without  finishing  their  supper,  and  that  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night 
the  shock  was  repeated  with  almost  equal  strength. 

"  The  fathers  of  the  mission  say  that  the  Indians  assure  them  that  there  have 
always  been  earthquakes  at  that  place,  and  that  there  are  certain  cavities  caused 
by  the  earthquakes,  and  thai,  salt  water  has  flowed  from  the  same. 

"  All  of  which  I  communicate  to  you  for  your  information. 

"  May  our  Lord  preserve  your  life  many  years. 

"HERMENEGILDO  SAL ." 

San  Juan  Bautista  is  the  mission  between  the  Monterey  and  San  Jose,  about 
twenty  miles  from  the  former  and  forty  from  the  latter.  The  next  mention  comes 
nearer  home.  » 

Account  of  earthquake  at  Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  given  by  Louis  Arguello, 
Captain  of  Presidio,  to  Governor  ArriUaga,  on  the  Yltk  oj  July,  1808. 

"I  have  to  report  to  your  excellency  that  since  the  2 1st  of  June  last  to  the 
present  date,  twenty-one  shocks  of  earthquakes  have  been  felt  in  this  presidio, 
some  of  which  have  been  so  severe  that  all  the  walls  of  my  house  have  been 
cracked,  owing  to  the  bad  construction  of  the  same,  one  of  the  ante-chambers 
being  destroyed  ;  and  if  up  to  this  time  no  greater  damage  has  been  done,  it  has 
been  for  the  want  of  materials  to  destroy,  there  being  no  other  habitations.  The 
barracks  of  the  Fort  of  San  Joaquin  (the  name  of  the  fort  at  the  presidio)  have 
been  threatened  with  entire  ruin,  and  I  fear  if  these  shocks  continue  some  un- 
fortunate accident  -will  happen  to  the  troops  at  the  presidio. 

"God  preserve  the  life  of  your  excellency  tnany  years. 

"LUIS  ARGUELLO. 

"  SAN  FRANCISCO,  July  17,  1808." 

It  could  not  be  said  now,  if  such  shocks  as  these  were  to  come  again,  that  the 
damage  was  limited  by  the  "want  of  material  to  destroy"  I  acknowledge  a 
preference  for  one- story  houses,  and  built  of  wood. 

About  this  time  the  Russians  were  first  seen  in  California.  "  Von  Resanoff, 
chamberlain  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  returning  from  his  embassy  to  Japan, 
after  having  inspected,  by  order  of  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  the  ports,  estab- 
lishments, and  trading-houses  that  the  Imperial  Russian-American  Fur  Com- 
pany possessed,  as  well  on  the  side  of  Asia,  at  Kamschatka,  and  in  the 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  293 

Aleutian  Islands,  as  on  the  continent  and  islands  of  the  northwest  coast  of  Amer- 
ica, anchored  at  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  in  the  month  of  May,  1807."  So 
says  the  French  traveller  De  Mofras,  who  visited  "California  in  the  years  1841 
and  '42."  An  English  traveller,  Sir  George  Simson,  governor-in-chief  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  territories,  who  was  here  in  the  same  year  with  De 
Mofras,  thus  makes  us  acquainted  with  one  of  the  parties  to  a  story  of  romantic 
love,  the  first  consequence  of  the  advent  of  the  Russians. 

"After  dinner,  (at  Captain  John  Wilson's,  in  Santa  Barbara,)  we  were  joined 
by  the  remainder  of  our  party,  the  Cowlitz  having  by  this  time  come  to  an  an- 
chor ;  and  we  again  sallied  forth  to  see  a  few  more  of  the  lions.  Among  the 
persons  whom  we  met  this  afternoon  was  a  lady  of  some  historical  celebrity. 
Von  'Resanoff,  having  failed,  as  elsewhere  stated,  in  his  attempt  to  enter  the 
Columbia  in  1806,  continued  his  voyage  as  far  as  San  Francisco,  when,  besides 
purchasing  immediate  supples  for  Sitka,  he  endeavored,  in  negotiation  with  the 
commandante  of  the  district  and  the  governor  of  the  province,  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  a  regular  intercourse  between  Russian  America  and  the  California  settle- 
ments. In  order  to  cemenj  the  national  union,  he  proposed  uniting  himself  with 
Dona  Concepcion  Arguello,  one  of  the  commandante's  daughters,  his  patriotism 
clearly  being  its  own  reward.  If  half  of  Langsdorff's  description  was  correct, 
'She  was  lively  and  animated,  had  sparkling,  love  inspiring  eyes,  beautiful  teeth, 
pleasing  and  expressive  features,  a  fine  form,  and  a  thousand  other  charms,  yet 
her  manners  were  perfectly  simple  and  artless.' 

"The  chancellor,  who  was  himself  of  the  Greek  church,  regarded  the  differ- 
ence of  religion  with  the  eyes  of  a  lover  and  a  politician ;  but  as  his  imperial 
master  might  take  a  less  liberal  view  of  the  matter,  he  posted  away  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, with  the  intention,  if  he  should  there  be  successful,  of  subsequently  visiting 
Madrid  for  the  requisite  authority  to  carry  his  schemes  into  full  effect.  But  the 
fates,  with  a  voice  more  powerful  than  that  of  emperors  and  kings,  forbade  the 
bans  ;  and  Von  Resanoff  died  on  his  road  to  Europe,  at  Krasnoyarsk,  in  Siberia, 
of  a  fall  from  his  horse. 

"  Thus  at  once  bereaved  of  her  lover,  and  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  being 
the  pledge  of  friendship  between  Russia  and  Spain,  Dofia  Concepcion  assumed 
the  habit,  but  not,  I  believe,  the  formal  vows  of  a  nun,  dedicating  her  life  to  the 
instruction  of  the  young  and  the  consolation  of  the  sick.  This  little  romance 
could  not  fail  to  interest  us,  and  notwithstanding  the  ungracefulness  of  her  con- 
ventual costume,  and  the  ravages  of  an  interval  of  time,  which  had  tripled  her 
years,  we  could  still  discover  in  her  face  and  figure,  in  her  manners  and  conver- 
sation, the  remains  of  those  charms  which  had  won  for  the  youthful  beauty,  Von 
Resanoff's  enthusiastic  love,  and  Langdorff's  equally  enthusiastic  admiration. 
Though  Dona  Concepcion  apparently  loved  to  dwell  on  the  story  of  her  blighted 
affections,  yet,  strange  to  say,  she  knew  not,  till  we  mentioned  it  to  her,  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  the  chancellor's  sudden  death.  This  circumstance  might,  in 
some  measure,  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  Langsdorff  's  work  was  not  pub- 
lished before  1814;  but  even  then,  in  any  other  country  than  California,  a  lady 
who  was  still  young  would  surely  have  seen  a  book,  which  besides  detailing  the 
grand  incident  of  her  life,  presented  so  gratifying  a  portrait  of  her  charms." 

How  strange,  as  he  justly  remarks,  that  Dona  Concepcion  had  never  seen  that 
book,  though  it  had  been  printed  more  than  twenty  five  years  !  [General  Val- 
lejo,  who  was  on  the  stand,  here  informed  Mr.  R.  that  this  lady  had  died  about 
eight  months  ago.J 

The  Russians,  in  1812,  came  down  from  the  north  and  established  themselves 
at  the  port  of  Bodega,  with  one  hundred  Russians  and  one  hundred  Kodiak 
Indians.  It  is  said  that  they  asked  permission  of  the  Spanish  authorities  before 
doing  so.  The  archives  are  full,  however,  of  documents  from  1812  up,  showing  the 
jealousy  and  fear  with  which  they  were  regarded  by  Spain,  and  afterwards,  by 


294  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

Mexico.     They  occupied  a  strip  along  the  coast  from   Bodega  northwards,  and 
only  a  few  leagues  in  depth,  but  without  any  precisely  fixed  limits. 

In  1841  this  establishment  was  at  its  best,  consisting  of  eight  hundred  Rus- 
sians, or  Russo-Asiatics,  with  a  great  number  of  native  Indian  tribes  around 
them,  working  for  wages.  It  was  to  circumscribe  these  intruders  that  the  priests 
crossed  over  and  founded  the  mission  of  San  Rafael  in  1819,  and  of  San  Francisco 
Solano  at  Sonoma  in  1823,  and  commenced  another  at  Santa  Rosa  in  1827. 
The  Russians  raised  some  grain  aud  cattle,  and  trapped  enormously.  De  Mo- 
fras,  whom  I  follow,  says  that  the  Kodiaks,  in  their  sealskin  boats,  made 
bloody  warfare  upon  the  seals,  beavers,  and  especially  the  otters ;  that  they 
hunted  all  the  coasts,  the  adjacent  islands,  and  even  the  marshes  and  in- 
numerable inlets  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco ;  and  that  there  were  weeks 
when  this  bay  alone  produced  seven  or  eight  hundred  otter  skins,  which  may  be 
true,  but  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  large  number.  In  1842  the  Russians  all  left 
of  their  own  accord,  after  having  held  their  possessions,  in  the  character  of  a 
Russian  colony,  for  thirty  years,  as  completely  as  they  now  hold  Sitka,  and 
•without  apparently  paying  the  slightest  attention  to  the  priests  or  the  soldiers 
who  crossed  over  to  look  after  them.  At  their  fort  of  Ross,  situated  amid  a  forest 
of  gigantic  pines,  a  Greek  chapel  reared  its  cross  and  belfries,  with  a  most 
pleasing  effect.  The  nearest  Catholic  mission  was  but  a  little  way  off.  Rome 
and  Constantinople  here  met  upon  this  coast,  after  a  course  of  so  many  centuries, 
in  opposite  directions  around  the  globe. 

While  Europe  was  convulsed,  and  America  shaken,  the  profoundest  quiet 
prevailed  in  California.  After  a  long  time  they  would  hear  of  a  great  battle,  or 
of  the  rise  or  fall  of  an  empire,  to  perturb  the  souls  of  priests  and  other  men. 
But  the  government  had  other  duties  to  perform,  patriarchal  and  simple.  On 
the  llth  of  February,  1797,  Felipe  de  Goycochea,  captain  of  the  presidio  of 
Santa  Barbara,  writes  to  Governor  Borica,  -as  follows  : 

"  I  transmit  to  you  a  statement  in  relation  to  the  schools  of  the  presidio,  to- 
gether with  six  copy-books  of  the  children,  who  are  learning  to  write,  for  your 
superior  information.  May  our  Lord  preserve  your  life  many  years. 

"  Santa  Barbara,  February  11,  1797. 

"FELIPE  GOYCOCHEA." 

These  copy-books  are  now  in  the  archives  for  inspection.  As  they  are  the 
property  of  the  State,  I  will  give  samples,  which  being  translated,  read  :  "The 
Ishmaelites  having  arrived;"  "Jacob  sent  to  see  his  brother;"  "Abimelech 
took  her  from  Abraham  "  Good,  pious  texts,  and  written  in  an  old-fashioned 
round  hand.  Such  was  the  employment  of  governors  and  captains  in  that 
stormy  time ;  and  so  it  continued  through  all  the  period  of  the  mighty  conflicts 
of  ISapoleon.'  Even  the  more  protracted  commotions  of  Mexico  herself  wrought 
no  disturbance  here.  The  dominion  of  Spain  came  to  an  end  in  California,  after 
.fifty-two  years  of  such  peacefulness,  without  a  struggle.  Mexico  having  estab- 
lished her  independence,  California  gave  in  her  adherence  in  the  following  de- 
claration : 

DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE    IN    CALIFORNIA. 

*  In  the  presidio  of  Monterey,  on  the  9th  day  of  the  month  of  April,  1822  : 
The  senor  military  and  political  governor  of  this  province,  Colonel  Don  Pablo 
Vicente  de  Sola,  the  senors  captains  commandantes  of  the  presidios  of  Santa 
Barbara  and  San  Francisco,  Don  Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega,  and 
Don  Luis  Antonio  de  Arguello,  the  captains  of  the  militia  companies  of  the  ba- 
tallion  of  Tepic  and  Mazatlan,  Don  Jose  Antonio  Navarrete,  and  Don  Pablo  de 
la  Portilla,  the  lieutenant  Don  Jose  Maria  Estudillo  for  the  presidial  company 
of  San  Diego,'  the  lieutenant  Don  Jose  Mariano  Estrada  for  the  presidial  com- 
pany of  Monterey,  the  lieutenant  of  artillery,  Don  Manuel  Gomez,  and  the  reve- 
rend fathers,  Friar  Mariano  Pay  eras,  and  Friar  Vicento  Francisco  de  Sarria, 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  295 

the  first  as  prelate  of  these  missions,  and  the  second  as  substitute  of  the  rever- 
end father  president  vicareo  foraneo,  Friar  Jose  Jenan  ;  having  assembled  in 
obedience  to  previous  citations  (convocatorias)  in  the  hall  of  the  government 
house,  and  being  informed  of  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  the  empire, 
and  the  installation  of  the  sovereign  provisional  gubernative  junta  in  the  capital 
of  Mexico,  by  the  official  communication  and  other  documents,  which  the  said 
governor  caused  to  be  read  in  full  assembly,  said  :  that,  for  themselves,  and  in 
behalf  of  their  subordinates,  they  were  decided  to  render  obedience  to  the  or- 
ders intimated  by  the  new  supreme  government,  recognizing,  from  this  time,  the 
province  as  a  dependent  alone  of  the  government  of  the  Empire  of  Mexico,  and 
independent  of  the  dominion  of  Spain,  as  well  as  of  any  other  foreign  power.  In 
consideration  of  which,  the  proper  oaths  will  be  taken,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by 
the  provisional  regency,  to  which  end  the  superior  military  and  political  chief  will 
give  the  necessary  orders,  and  the  respective  commandantes  of  presidios  and  the 
ministers  of  the  missions  will  cause  the  fulfilment  of  the  same  to  appear  by 
means  of  certificates,  which  will  be  transmitted,  with  a  copy  of  this  act,  to  the 
most  excellent  minister,  to  whom  it  corresponds,  and  they  signed, 

PABLO  VICENTE  DE   SOLA, 
JOSE  DE  LA  GUERRA  Y  NORIEGA, 
LUIS  ANTONIO  ARGUELLO, 
JOSE  M.  ESTUDILLO, 
MANUEL  GOMEZ, 
PABLO  DE  LA  PORTILLA, 
JOSE  MARIANO  ESTRADA, 
FR.  MARIANO  PAYERAS, 
FR.  VICENTE  FRANCISCO  DE  SARRIA, 
JOSE  M.  ESTUDILLO. 

One  of  the  signers  of  this  instrument,  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  was  at  that  time- 
governor  under  Spain,  and  held  over  for  a  year  as  governor  still  under  the  king-s 
dom  of  the  empire,  as  expressed  in  the  declaration,  and  two  others  are  the  chief 
of  the    ecclesiastical  authorities,  viz.  the  prelate  of  the  missions,  and  the  sub 
stitute  of  the  reverend  father  president  of  the  missions.     The  style  does  not 
much  resemble  our  immortal  instrument;  and,  as  another  difference,  we  observe 
that  all  the  parties  to  it  are  either  priests  or  soldiers. 

The  Spanish  governors  were  in  all  ten.    Their  names  and  the  time  they  were 
respectively  in  office,  as  follows  : 

Caspar  dePortala...  1767  to  1771 

Felipe  de  Barri -, 1771  to  1774 

Fehpede  Neve 1774  to  1782 

Pedro  Fages } 1782  to  1790 

Jose  Antonio  Komeu 1790  to  1792 

Jose  J.  de  Arrillaga,  (ad  interim) 1792  to  1794 

Diego  de  Borica 1794  to  1800 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga 1800  to  1814 

Jose  Arguello,  (ad  interim) , 1814  to  1815 

Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola 1815  to  1822  and  1823 

Under  Mexico  the  list  continues  : 

Luis  Arguello ^ 1823  to  1826 

Jose  Ma.de  Echandia 1826  to  1831 

Manuel  Victoria 1831  to  1832 

Pio  Pico,  (ad  interim) 1832 

Jose  Figueroa 1832  to  1835 

Jose  Castro,  (ad  interim) 1835  to  1836 

Nicholas  Gutierrez 1836 

Mariano  Chico 1836 

Nicholas  Gutierrez,  (again  for  a  few  months) 1836 

Juan  B.  Alvarado 1836  to  1842 

Manuel  Micheltorena , 1842  to  1845 

Pio  Pico 1845  to  1846 


296  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

California,  as  a  matter  of  course,  accepted  the  republic  as  readily  as  the  em- 
pire. But  it  was  difficult  to  throw  off  old  habits,  and  the  following  document 
discloses  a  temper  towards  strangers  not  creditable  to  a  liberal  government.  It 
is  of  greatly  more  value,  however,  as  the  recorded  evidence  of  the  arrival  of  the 
first  American  who  ever  came  to  California  by  land.  Let  him  tell  his  own  story. 

Letter  from  Captain  Jedediah  S.  Smith  to  Father  Duran. 

REVEREND  FATHER  :  I  understand,  through  the  medium  of  one  of  your 
Christian  Indians,  that  you  are  anxious  to  know  who  we  are,  as  some  of  the 
Indians  have  been  at  the  mission  and  informed  you  that  there  were  certain  white 
people  in  the  country.  We  are  Americans,  on  our  journey  to  the  river  Colum- 
bia; we  were  in  at  the  mission  San  Gabriel  in  January  la^t.  I  went  to  San 
Diego  and  saw  the  general,  and  got  a  passport  from  him  to  pass  on  to  that  place. 
I  have  made  several  efforts  to  cross  the  mountains,  but  the  snows  being  so  deep, 
I  could  not  succeed  in  getting  over.  I  returned  to  this  place  (it  being  the  only 
point  to  kill  meat)  to  wait  a  few  weeks  until  the  snow  melts,  so  that  I  can  go 
on ;  the  Indians  here  also  being  friendly,  I  consider  it  the  most  safe  point  for 
me  to  remain,  until  such  time  as  I  can  cross  the  mountains  with  my  horses, 
having  lost  a  great  many  in  attempting  to  cross  ten  or  fifteen  days  since.  I  am 
a  long  ways  from  home,  and  am  anxious  to  get  ihere  as  soon  as  the  nature  of 
the  case  will  admit.  Our  situation  is  quite  unpleasant,  being  destitute  of  cloth- 
ing and  most  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  wild  meat  being  our  principal  subsist- 
ence. 

I  am,  reverend  father,  your  strange,  but  real  friend  and  Christian  brother, 

J.  S.  SMITH. 

May  19,  1827. 

His  encampment  must  have  been  somewhere  near  the  mission  of  San  Jose' , 
as  it  was  there  that  Father  Duran  resided.  Who  is  there  that  does  not  sym- 
pathise with  Jedediah  Smith  ?  "I  am  alog  ways  from  borne,  and  am  anxious 
to  get  there  as  soon  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit.  Our  situation  is  quite 
unpleasant,  being  destitute  of  clothing  and  most  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  wild 
meat  being  our  principal  subsistence.  I  am,  reverend  father,  your  strange,  but 
real  friend  and  Christian  brother." 

Thus  we  came  to  this  country  the  Browns  and  Smiths  first,  and  in  but  an 
unhappy  plight. 

As  Jedediah  Smith's  letter  shows,  he  had  been  here  before.  At  that  time  he 
had  been  required  to  give  an  account  of  himself,  but  had  been  able  to  find 
vouchers,  shipmasters,  all  of  them  doubtless  from  Boston,  who  had  come  to  buy  the 
hides  which  under  the  new  system  were  now  within  the  reach  of  commerce  : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  having  been  requested  by  Captain  Jedediah  S.  Smith 
to  state  our  opinions  regarding  his  entering  the  province  of  California,  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  we  have  no  doubt  in  our  minds  but  that  he  was  compelled  to 
for  want  of  provisions  and  water,  having  entered  so  far  into  the  barren  country 
that  lies  between  the  latitudes  of  forty -two  and  forty-three  west  that  he  found 
it  impossible  to  return  by  the  route  he  came,  as  his  horses  had  most  of  them 
perished  for  want  of  food  and  water.  He  was.,  therefore,  under  the  necessity  of 
pushing  forward  to  California,  it  being  the  nearest  place  where  he  could  procure 
supplies  to  enable  him  to  return. 

"  We  further  state  as  our  opinions  that  the  account  given  by  him  is  circum- 
stantially correct,  and  that  his  sole  object  was  the  hunting  and  trapping  of  beaver 
and  other  furs. 

"  We  have  also  examined  the  passports  produced  by  him  from  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  do  riot  hesitate  to  say  we  believe  them  to  be  perfectly  correct. 


WEST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  297 

We  also  state,  that  in  our  opinion,  his  motive  for  wishing  to  pass  by  a  differ- 
ent route  to  the  head  of  the  Columbia  river  on  his  return,  is  solely  because  he 
feels  convinced  that  he  and  his  companions  run  great  risk  of  perishing  if  they 
return  by  the  route  they  came. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals  this  20th  day 
of  December,  1826. 


WM.  G.  DANA,  Captain  of  schooner  Waverly. 
WM.  H.  CUNNINGHAM,  Capt.  of  ship  Courier. 
WM.  HENDERSON,  Capt.  of  brig  Olive  Branch. 
JAMES  SCOTT. 

THOS.  M.  ROBBINS,  Mate  oj  schooner  Waverly. 
THOS.  SHAW,  Supercargo  of  ship  Courier. 


L.  s. 

L.  S. 
L.  S. 
L.  S. 
L.  S. 
L.  S. 


In  extenuation,  however,  it  maybe  said  that  Anglo-Americans  had  long  been 
viewed  with  uneasiness  in  this  quarter.  It  was  prophesied  as  early  as  1805 
that  they  would  become  troublesome  to  California.  So  wrote  a  governor  in  an 
official  letter  now  in  the  archives. 

In  a  recent  number  of  a  magazine,  (Harper's  for  June,  I860,)  Sylvester 
Pattie,  his  son,  and  six  others,  are  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  accomplished 
the  journey  overland  from  the  United  States  to  California.  The  dates  men- 
tioned in  that  account  show  that  they  could  not  have  reached  Lower  California, 
where  they  first  arrived,  sooner  than  1829  or  1830,  as  it  is  said  they  left  the 
Missouri  river  in  1824,  and  icmained  more  than  five  years  in  New  Mexico.  The 
Patties,  therefore,  cannot  dispute  this  honor  with  Jedediah  Smith. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  federal  Constitution  of  1824,  by  which  was  estab- 
lished the  Mexican  United  States,  the  governor  of  California  was  called  the 
political  chief  of  the  Territory,  and  was  aided  by  a  council  known  as  the  territo- 
rial deputation.  The  government  of  the  Territory  continued  subject  to  the 
sovereign  congress  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  as  formerly  that  of  the  province  had 
been  to  the  viceroy.  Thus  much  will  be  a  sufficient  introduction. for  the  next 
paper.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  it  was  not  known  to  the  gentleman  who  de- 
signed the  coat  of  arms  adopted  for  this  State. 

"In  session  of  the  13th  of  July,  1827,  of  the  territorial  deputation,  a  propo- 
sition was  made  to  change  the  name  of  the  Territory  to  Moctesuma,  the  arms  of 
the  same  to  be  an  Indian  with  his  bow  and  quiver,  in  the  act  of  crossing  a 
strait,  placed  in  an  oval,  with  an  olive  and  live  oak  on  either  side;  the  same 
being  symbolical  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  inhabitant  to  America,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  generally  received  opinion,  was  by  xway  of  the  straits  of  Anian." 

The  conception  is  poetical  and  simple,  and  differs  in  this  particular  widely 
from  the  confused  medley  of  incongruous  figures  with  which  we  have  chosen  to 
illustrate  our  idea  of  California.  The  name  Moctesuma  is  very  significant.  It 
shows  How  the  Mexican,  since  his  independence,  has  preferred  to  draw  his 
opinions,  as  he  derives  his  blood,  from  the  conquered  rather  than  the  conquerors. 
A  late  but  signal  triumph  of  race!  California  was  near  losing  the  name  given 
her  by  heroes  who  came  across  the  Atlantic,  for  one  suggestive  of  a  descent  from 
an  imaginary  people  who  came  across  Behring's  straits. 

The  Russians  and  the  American  trappers,  estrays  dropping  in  from  the 
mountains,  seemed  to  have  taught  the  Californians  the  value  of  furs.  The 
government  of  the  Territory  very  naturally  made  this  new  business  a  source  oi 
revenue.  They  sold  licenses  to  trap.  To  obtain  this  privilege  was  rather' a 
formal  matter.  Here  is  an  example : 

Juan  B.  R.  Cooper  petitions  the  governor  for  a  license  to  trap  with  ten  boats, 
for  seven  months,  for  otters.  The  governor  refers  the  petition  to  the  alcalde,  to 
know  whether  Mr.  Cooper  is  matriculated  in  the  marine,  i.  e.,  a  seaman.  The 
alcalde  reports  that  he  belongs  to  the  first  class  of  seamen,  and  the  governor 
orders  a  license  to  be  issued  to  Mr.  Cooper  to  hunt  otters  from  the  parallel  of 


298  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

San  Luis  Obispo  to  Bodega,  two-thirds  of  the  crews  of  his  boats  to  be  natives 
of  the  country.  '  There  are  many  others  who  get  licenses,  whose  names  are 
familiar  to  the  oldest  of  the  living  pioneers.  Edward  Mclntosh  got  his  on 
January  9,  1834,  William  Wolfskill  his  September  21,  1833;  and  many  of  the 
old  Californians  embarked  in  the  same  business,  as  Angel  Castro,  March  25, 
1833,  and  Juan  Bandini  on  the  9th  of  April,  1833. 

Internal  disturbances  seem  to  have  commenced  in  California  about  the  year 
1830.  The  liberal  Spanish  Cortez  of  1813,  in  carrying  out  the  constitution 
which  they  had  adopted  for  the  Spanish  monarchy  the  year  before,  decreed  the 
secularization  of  all  the  missions  in  the  Spanish  dominions.  The  design  was  to 
make  general  what  had  always  been  done  before  by  special  authority — to 
liberate  the  Indians  from  the  control  of  the  missionary  fathers,  and  divide 
amongst  them,  as  their  separate  property,  the  land,  cattle,  and  whatever  else 
they  had  owned  in  common ;  to  establish  secular  priests  in  the  place  of  regular 
priests  or  monks  of  the  religious  orders  among  them,  for  their  spiritual  guidance, 
and  in  every  respect  to  convert  the  Indian  villages  of  the  missions  into  Spanish 
pueblos — the  process  by  which,  in  so  great  a  degree,  society  was  constructed 
in  all  Spanish-American  countries,  and  the  ultimate  fulfilment  of  the  purpose  of 
the  King,  everywhere  so  prominently  put  forth  in  colonizing  California. 

The  decrees  of  the  Cortez,  not  incompatible  with  the  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment, continued  after  the  establishment  of  her  independence  to  be  the  laws  of 
Mexico,  but  very  few,  if  any,  of  them  had  been  put  into  operation  in  California. 
With  the  rest,  that  of  secularization  remained  a  dead  letter.  Enchandia,  the 
political  chief,  (as  the  governor  was  then  entitled,)  in  1830,  very  hurriedly,  and 
without  consulting  the  supreme  government,  published,  as  the  custom  of  the  gov- 
ernment was,  a  set  of  regulations  for  carrying  this  old  law  into  effect.  At  that 
moment  he  was  superseded  by  Victoria,  who  suppressed  the  regulations,  and  put 
a  peremptory  stop  to  the  secularization  of  the  missions.  Victoria's  conduct  was 
approved  by  the  supreme  government,  but  there  was  a  party  here  warmly  in  favor 
of  the  secularization,  and  disturbances  which  were  considered  serious  and  threat- 
ening ensued,  although  I  do  not  know  that  they  resulted  in  bloodshed.  The 
chief  promoter  of  the  scheme  was  sent  out  of  the  country  by  Victoria ;  and  thus,  I 
think,  civil  strife  commenced  in  California.  The  occasion  was  the  disposition  to  be 
made  of  the  missions,  which,  we  have  seen,  were  once,  and  for  so  long  a  time,  so 
nearly  all  of  California.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  downfall  of  those  ancient 
establishments,  so  difficult  for  us  to  comprehend,  and  now  so  entirely  passed 
away  that  to  recall  them  is  like  recalling  the  images  of  a  dream.  What  the 
government  of  Mexico  was  opposed  to  was  not  the  secularization  of  the  missions, 
but  the  manner  in  which  it  was  attempted.  The  agitation  which  had  been  thus 
commenced  resulted  in  the  passage,  by  the  Mexican  congress,  of  the  law  of  the 
17th  of  August,  1833,  to  secularize  the  missions  of  the  Californias.  Under  it 
the  work  was  begun  by  Figueroa,  the  best  and  ablest  of  the  Mexican  gover- 
nors. At  the  same  time  he  had  two  other  laws,  most  fundamentally  subversive 
of  the  old  order  of  things,  to  carry  into  execution.  They  were  the  law  for  the 
political  organization  of  the  Territory,  being  another  of  those  decreed  by  the 
Spanish  Cortes  in  1813,  and  the  law  of  colonization,  passed  by  the  Mexican 
congress,  August  18,  1824,  with  the  executive  regulations,  prescribing  the  man- 
ner of  its  application,  dated  November  21,  1828.  It  is  evident  that  this  is  the 
true  era  of  revolution  in  Mexican  California.  Observing  the  ancient  limits  of 
the  presidial  jurisdictions,  municipal  governments  were  established  for  each 
district.  Authority  was  exercised,  by  elective  bodies  called  ayuntamientos,  ot 
which  the  head  was  an  alcalde  or  judge.  This  body  regulated  the  economy  of 
the  whole  district,  directly  of  the  pueblo  in  which  it  resided,  and  of  every  other 
pueblo  in  the  district,  through  the  intervention  of  local  and  subordinate  ayun- 
tamientos. This  was  the  separation  of  the  civil  functions  from  the  military 
functions,  both  of  which  had  been  continued  in  the  hands  of  the  commanders 


WEST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  299 

of  the  presidios,  as  in  the  Spanish  times.  Here  in  San  Francisco,  and  for  all 
the  region  north  of  San  Mateo  creek,  east  indefinitely,  and  west  to  the  ocean, 
the  separation  of  powers  took  place  in  December,  1834,  at  which  time  th^ 
ayuntarniento  was  established  for  the  civil  government  of  this  presidial  district, 
and  General  M.  G.  Vallejo,  then  in  command  of  the  presidio,  was  left  with  only 
his  military  command.  In  the  secularization  of  the  missions,  Figueroa  advanced 
so  far  as  to  put  administrators  in  possession  in  place  of  the  fathers,  at  which 
stage  his  proceedings  were  arrested  by  a  decree  of  the  Mexican  President. 
Ruin  was  inevitable;  it  was  as  rapid  as  spoliation  could  make  it,  and  it  was  soon 
complete.  Governor  after  governor  adopted  regulations  upon  regulations,  to  se- 
cure a  faithful  administration  of  the  property  of  the  missions,  i.  e.,  of  the  Chris- 
tian Indians,  who  inhabited  them,  and  by  whose  labor  all  had  been  built  and 
accumulated.  It  was  to  no  purpose ;  and  of  as  little  avail  was  the  partial  restor- 
ation of  the  missions  to  the  charge  of  the  fathers,  by  Micheltorena  in  1843. 
The  Indian  was  by  nature  a  very  little  above  the  brute;  the  fathers  were  not 
able  to  elevate  him  in  spite  of  nature;  the  administrators  stripped  him  without 
compunction ;  and,  when  the  United  States  conquered  the  country,  he  was  al- 
ready exterminated,  his  destruction  complete  in  ten  years.  When  emancipation 
began,  Figueroa  says  there  were  twenty  thousand  Christian  Indians  in  the  mis- 
sions of  California. 

Colonization  was  another  idea  introduced  by  the  Spanish  Cortes  in  1813.  It 
was  embodied  in  the  Mexican  law  of  colonization  of  1824.  The  scheme  was  to 
reduce  all  the  public  lands  of  the  State  to  private  property.  The  Spanish  rule 
before  1813  had  ever  been  to  make  such  grants  the  exception,  and  to  retain  all 
lands,  generally  speaking,  as  the  domain  of  the  King.  Other  Mexican  govern- 
ors may  have  made  informal  grants  of  which  nothing  appears,  but  Figueroa  was 
the  first  to  inaugurate  the  system  of  which  we  find  the  records  in  the  archives. 
He  established  a  course  of  proceeding  in  exact  accordance  with  the  law  and  the 
regulations,  and  adhered  to  it  strictly,  and  executed  it  conscientiously,  and  with 
great  intelligence.  From  the  lands  subject  to  be  granted  are  excepted  such  as 
belong  to  pueblos  and  missions.  Of  pueblos,  i.  e.,  villages,  there  were  but 
two,  San  Jose  and  Los  Angeles,  or  three,  including  the  unprosperous  Villa 
de  Branciforte.  Whatever  lands  these  owned  were  at  their  foundation  sur- 
veyed, marked  out,  and  set  apart  to  them,  and  then  recorded.  The  same 
course  was  followed  with  such  of  the  presidios  as  were  converted  into  pueblos, 
as  at  Monterey,  and  would  have  been  pursued  with  the  missions  when  con- 
verted into  pueblos,  if  that  change  had  not  been  arrested.  In  these  cases 
there  could  have  been  no  uncertainty  as  to  what  lands  the  governor  could 
grant.  With  the  missions  untouched,  or  incompletely  secularized  as  they 
were  left,  there  was  difficulty.  The  title  of  the  Indian  who  had  consented 
to  become  a  Christian  and  a  civilized  man,  binding  as  it  was  upon  the 
king,  had  always  been  indefinite  as  to  quantity,  and  as  to  the  situation  of  his 
lands,  save  that  it  should  be  at  and  about  the  mission;  in  which  essential  par- 
ticulars it  rested  altogether  in  the  King's  discretion,  exercised  by  the  proper 
officers  of  his  government.  The  Mexican  republic  stepped  into  the  same  relation 
to  these  Christian  Indians.  That  no  injustice  might  be  done  them,  every  petition 
was  referred  to  the  priests,  and  afterwards  to  the  administrators  of  the  missions. 
They  were  asked  whether  the  grant  could  be  made  without  prejudice  to  the 
Indians.  As  they  replied  so  were  the  grants  given  or  withheld.  So  it  was  at 
least  in  Figueroa's  day,  and  that,  no  matter  how  far  the  land  petitioned  for  was 
from  the  nearest  mission.  Other  governors  were  neither  so  exact  nor  so  con- 
scientious as  Figueroa.  And  as,  in  the  hands  of  the  administrators  to  whom  they 
were  delivered  over,  the  missions  went  rapidly  down  to  complete  ruin,  it  is  evi  • 
dent  that  the  lands  required  for  the  Indians  would  become  continually  less — 
such  would  be,  and  was,  the  answer  of  their  new  guardians  to  the  inquiries  ot 
the  governor — and  finally  all  was  granted,  and  in  some  cases,  it  is  alleged,  even 


300  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

the  missions  themselves.  Their  cattle  without  the  aid  of  a  grant  from  the  gov- 
ernor took  the  same  course.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  when  the  United 
Imitates  in  1846  took  possession  of  the  country  they  found  it  passing  through  a 
conquest  still  raw  and  incomplete.  It  was  the  conquest  of  the  missions  and  the 
Christian  Indians  by  the  settlers  of  the  presidios  and  pueblos,  who  at  first  had 
been  introduced  into  the  country  mainly  for  their  benefit,  to  aid  the  king  and 
the  church  in  carrying  out  their  pious  and  humane  intentions  towards  them, 
Yet  it  was  well  that  it  was  so.  Who  that  looVs  upon  the  native  Digger  Indian 
could  wish  that  a  superior  race  should  be  sacrificed  or  postponed  for  his  benefit1? 
We  contemplate  a  miserable  result  of  the  work  begun  with  so  much  zeal  and 
heroism  in  1769.  But  because  they  failed,  we  none  the  less  respect  the  motives 
and  the  laborers,  whether  of  church  or  state. 

The  unworthiness  of  the  Californian  Indian  did  not  altogether  deprive  him  of 
sympathy.  Every  government  expressed  some  feeling  at  seeing  him  hasten  so 
rapidly  to  his  wretched  end.  And  the  just  and  kind-hearted  Figueroa  battled 
for  him  manfully.  In  the  midst  of  the  complex  labors  of  his  administration  he 
was  almost  crushed  by  the  arrival  of  three  hundred  persons,  for  whom  he  had 
to  make  provision,  without  resources,  and  who  came  under  the  charge  of  a 
director  of  colonization,  instructed  by  the  supreme  government,  at  that  time 
radically  democratic,  to  begin  operations  by  taking  possession  of  the  property 
of  the  missions  and  admit  the  new  colonists  to  a  division  of  it  with' the  Indians. 
During  the  winter  of  1834-'35  Figueroa  and  the  director  carried  on  an  animated 
discussion  in  writing,  on  the  subject  of  the  last  of  these  propositions.  Figueroa 
maintained  that  the  missfons  were  the  private  property  of  the  Indians,  arid  pro- 
tected from  invasion  by  the  constitution.  The  director  insisted  upon  the  letter 
of  the  order  of  the  supreme  government.  Figueroa  said  it  was  improvident, 
and  refused  to  obey  it  until  he  could  make  a  representation  to  the  supreme  gov- 
ernment on  the  subject.  The  end  was  that  some  of  the  partisans  of  the  director 
attempted  an  insurrection  at  Los  Angeles,  in  the  spring  of  1835,  which  was 
easily  suppressed,  but  furnished  Figueroa  the  opportunity  to  send  the  director  and 
the  heads  of  his  faction  back  to  Mexico.  Of  these,  the  principal  was  the  same  man 
who  had  been  sent  out  of  California  by  Victoria  for  the  same  cause,  a  desire  to  have 
a  part  in  the  secularization  of  the  missions.  The  colony,  however,  remained, 
and,  though  numbering  but  three  hundred,  was  a  great  addition  to  the  popula- 
tion of  California  in  those  days.  Among  them  we  find  the  names  of  several 
persons  who  afterwards  became  conspicuous  in  the  country,  amongst  them  Jose 
Abrego,  Jose  Ma.  Covarrubias,  Augustin  Olvera,  and  Francisco  Guerrero. 

Figueroa  died  at  Monterey,  on  the  29th  of  September,  1835,  his  death  being 
probably  hastened  by  the  effect  of  the  anxiety  and  vexation  of  this  controversy 
upon  a  constitution  already  broken.  At  that  time  his  manifesto  to  the  Mexican 
republic,  in  which  he  gives  a  clear  and  forcible  statement  of  the  whole  affair, 
and  an  able  vindication  of  his  conduct,  was  going  through  the  press  at  Monte- 
rey. His  death  seems  to  have  been  very  greatly  deplored  at  that  time,  and  he 
is  still  recognized  as  the  ablest  and  most  upright  of  the  Mexican  governors.  His 
work  of  the  political  organization  of  California  lasted  but  a  little  while ;  it  fell 
with  the  overthrow  of  the  federal  constitution  of  1824,  by  Santa  Anna,  in  1836. 
California  then  became  a  department ;  political  chief  was  changed  into  governor, 
and  territorial  deputation  into  departmental  assembly. 

These  changes,  however,  were  not  fully  completed  in  California  until  1839. 
The  department  of  the  Californias  was  then  divided  into  three  districts ;  the 
first  extending  from  the  frontier  of  Sonoma  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  its  principal 
point  or  seat  of  administration  being  the  old  Mission  of  San  Juan,  on  the  Pajaro 
river;  the  second  district  included  the  rest  of  Upper  California,  the  seat  of  its 
administration  being  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  which  had  been  promoted  to  that 
rank  from  the  original  condition  of  a  pueblo,  in  the  year  1835;  and  the  third 
comprised  Lower  California,  which,  after  a  separation,  was  now  reunited  with 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  301 

Upper  California.  These  districts  were  divided  each  into  two  partidos,  of  which, 
consequently,  there  were  four  in  Upper  California.  Ayuntamteutos  were  abol- 
ished, and  a  justice  of  the  peace  substituted  in  each  partido.  For  the  whole  dis- 
trict there  was  a  prefect,  who  resided  at  the  seat  of  the  administration  of  one  of 
the  partidos,  and  a  sub-prefect,  who  resided  at  that  of  the  other  partido.  In 
1843  Micheltorena,  acting  under  extraordinary  powers,  made  some  changes  in 
this  system,  but  it  was  substantially  restored  by  Pio  Pico,  in  1845,  but  when 
again  Lower  California  was  thrown  off. 

With  Figueroa  everything  like  stability,  and  indeed'  order,  passed  away. 
The  next  year  after  Figueroa's  death,  the  Californiaus  drove  away  the  gover- 
nor, and  Don  Juan  B.  Alvarado  being  at  that  time  president  of  the  territorial 
deputation,  was  declared  governor.  After  this  was  done  the  diputation  went 
one  step  further  and  on  the  7th  of  November,  1836,  passed  these  resolutions  : 

(V)  "  California  is  declared  independent  of  Mexico  until  the  re-establishment 
of  the  constitution  of  1824." 

(2.)  "  California  is  erected  into  a  free  and  sovereign  State,  establishing  a  con- 
gress," &c.,  &c. 

Public  documents  for  a  while  were  headed  "  Free  and  Sovereign  State  of 
California."  This  anomalous  state  of  things  laste^  until  1838.  The  demands 
of  the  free  and  sovereign  state  were  not  complied  with,  nor  on  the  other  hand 
was  the  central  government  disposed  or  perhaps  able  to  push  the  controversy 
to  extremes.  In  1838  Alvarado  was  appointed  governor  ad  interim;  and  con- 
stitutional governor  in  1839,  when  we  have  seen  that  the  innovations  of  Santa 
Anna  took  effect.  Whilst  California  was  in  rebellion  the  president  of  Mexico 
commissioned  Carlos  Antonio  Carillo  as  governor.  Alvarado  refused  to  recog- 
nize him,  and  accepted  the  aid  of  a  party  of  Americans  who  since  the  time  of 
Jedediah  Smith  seem  to  have  found  their  way  into  the  country.  Alvarado 
prevailed  over  Carillo ;  and  his  appointment  as  governor  ad  interim  compro- 
mised the  difficulties  of  those  times.  Here  is  a  document  relating  to  this  con- 
test, which  will  serve  to  illustrate  California  warfare.  It  is  the  report  of  General 
Jose  Castro  to  Governor  Alvarado,  dated  the  28th  of  March,  1838: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  announce  to  your  excellency,  that  after  two  days'  con- 
tinual firing  without  having  lost  but  one  man,  the  enemy  took  to  flight,  under 
cover  of  night,  numbering  one  hundred  and  ten  men  ;  and  I  have  determined  to 
despatch  one  company  of  mounted  infantry,  under  the  command  o£  Captain 
Villa,  and  another  of  cavalry  lancers,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Cota,  in 
their  pursuit,  remaining  myself,  with  the  rest  of  the  division,  and  the  artillery, 
to  guard  this  point,"  &c.,  &c. 

And  here  is  another  of  the  same  period.  It  now  appears  that  the  Americans 
who  side'd  with  Alvarado  had  fallen  under  suspicion  and  into  disfavor  at  about 
the  time  that  their  chief  made  up  his  differences  with  the  central  government 
and  received  his  commission  as  governor  ad  interim.  They  were  all  arrested, 
some  fifteen  or  twenty,  perhaps,  it  is  said,  by  surprise,  and  sent  to  Mexico. 
Amongst  them  was  Mr.  Isaac  Graham,  of  Santa  Cruz.  This  paper  will  also 
serve  as  a  specimen  of  California  eloquence  at  that  period,  and  I  commend  it  at 
the  present  moment  as  a  model  to  our  political  orators. 

Proclamation  made  by  the  undersigned. 

"  Eternal  glory  to  the  illustrious  champion  and  liberator  of  the  department  of 
Alta  California,  Don  Jose  Castro,  the  guardian  of  order,  and  the  supporter  of 
our  superior  government. 

"  Fellow  citizens  and  friends:  To-day,  the  eighth  of  May  of  the  present  year 
of  1840,  has  been  and  will  be  eternally  glorious  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  this 
soil  in  contemplating  the  glorious  expedition  of  our  fellow-countryman,  Don 
Jose"  Castro,  who  goes  to  present  himself  before  the  superior  government  of  the 


302  RESOURCES   OF   STATES  AND   TERRITORIES 

Mexican  nation,  carrying  with  him  a  number  of  suspicious  Americans,  who  un- 
der the  mask  of  deceit,  and  filled  with  ambition,  were  warping  us  in  the  web  of 
misfortune ;  plunging  us  into  the  greatest  confusion  and  danger ;  desiring  to 
terminate  the  life  of  our  governor  and  of  all  his  subalterns  ;  and  finally  to  drive 
us  from  our  asylums,  from  our  country,  from  our  pleasures,  and  from  our  hearths. 

"  The  bark  which  carries  this  valorous  hero  on  his  grand  commission  goes  filled 
with  laurels  and  crowned  with  triumphs,  plowing  the  waves  and  publishing, 
in  distinct  voices  to  the  passing  billows,  the  loud  vivas  and  rejoicings  which  will 
resound  to  the  remotest  bounds  of  the  universe.  Yes,  fellow  citizens  and  friends, 
again  we  say  that  this  glorious  chief  should  have  a  place  in  the  innermost  re- 
cesses of  our  hearts,  and  be  held  as  dear  to  us  as  our  very  breath.  Thus  we 
desire,  and  in<|he  name  of  all  the  inhabitants,  make  known  the  great  rejoicings 
with  which  we  are  filled,  giving,  at  the  same  time,  to  our  superior  government 
the  present  proclamation  which  we  make  for  said  worthy  chief;  and  that  our 
governor  may  remain  satisfied  that  if  he  (Castro)  has  embarked  for  the  interior 
of  the  republic,  there  still  remain  under  his  (the  governor's)  orders  all  his  fellow- 
countrymen,  companions  in  arms,"  &c.,  &c. 

The  foregoing  is  signed  by  seven  citizens  of  note  and  respectabilit}7  in  the 
country*  When  this  laurel-Jaden  vessel  reached  San  Bias  the  Mexican  author- 
ities took  a  different  view  of  the  matter.  They  put  General  Castro  in  prison 
and  Graham  and  his  companions  in  the  best  hotel  in  the  place,  (he  says  a  pal- 
ace,) and  entertained  them  handsomely  until  they  could  send  them  back  to  Cal- 
ifornia, which  they  did  at  the  expense  of  the  government. 

In  1839  Captain  John  A.  Sutter,  a  man  who  had  seen  many  vicissitudes  and 
adventures  in  Europe  and  the  wilds  of  America,  arrived  in  California  from  the 
Sandwich  islands.  By  permission  of  Governor  Alvarado  he  established  himself 
in  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  then  the  extreme  northern  frontier.  He  en- 
gaged to  protect  the  Mexican  settlements  extending  in  that  direction  under  the 
colonization  law  (the  only  vital  thing  left  of  the  Mexican  rule  for  many  years) 
from  the  incursions  of  the  Indians,  and  he  kept  his  word. 

In  1841  he  obtained  a  grant  of  land  himself  and  built  a  fort,  which  soon  be- 
came the  refuge  and  rallying  point  for  Americans  and  Europeans  coming  into 
the  country.  Over  all  these  Sutter,  by  virtue  of  an  appointment  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  exercised  whatever  government  there  was  beyond  the  law  of  the  rifle. 
Practically  his  powers  were  as  indefinite  as  the  territorial  limits  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion. Among  those  who  early  gathered  around  Sutter  we  find  the  names  of 
John  Bidwell,  who  came  in  1841,  and  Pearson  B.Reading  and  Samuel  J.  Hens- 
ley,  who  came  in  1843,  and  many  others  well  known  at  the  present  day. 

The  pioneers  of  that  day  all  bear  testimony  to  the  generosity  of  Captain  Sut- 
ter at  a  time  when  his  fort  was  the  capital  and  he  the  government  for  the  Amer- 
ican colony  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento.  In  1844  the  numbers  of  this 
population  had  come  to  be  so  considerable  as  to  be  a  power  in  the  State.  In  the 
revolution  which  then  occurred  Sutter  took  the  side  of  Governor  Micheltorena. 
But  before  he  marched  he  took  the  reasonable  precaution,  so  obviously  required 
by  justice  to  his  men,  to  obtain  from  Micheltorena  a  grant  of  the  land  for  which 
they  had  respectfully  petitioned.  Micheltorena  then  issued  the  document  known 
as  the  General  Title. 

In  this  document  he  declares  that  every  petition  upon  which  Sutter,  in  his 
capacity  of  justice  of  the  peace,  had  reported  favorably,  should  be  taken  as 
granted,  and  that  a  copy  of  this  document  given  to  each  petitioner  should  serve 
in  lieu  of  the  usual  formal  grant.  This  done,  he  marched  to  the  south,  but 
was  unfortunate,  !or  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  Micheltoreua  expelled  from  the 
country.  This  is  the  last  of  the  civil  wars  of  California. 

In  the  spring  of  1846  General  Castro  in  the  north,  and  Pio  Pico,  the  governor, 
in  the  south,  were  waxing  hot  against  each  other,  and  preparing  for  new  con- 
flicts, when  the  apparition  of  Captain  Fremont,  with  his  small  surveying  party 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  303 

of  old  mountaineers,  and  the  hardy  and  indomitable  pioneers  of  the  Sacramento 
valley,  and  the  bear  flag,  put  an  end  to  their  dissensions.  Castro  had  himself 
prepared  the  way  for  this  aggression  by  driving  Fremont  and  his  surveying 
party  out  of  the  Mexican  settlements  a  few  months  before.  The  colony  on  the 
Sacramento  necessarily  sympathized  with  Fremont ;  and  rumors,  more  or  less 
well  founded,  began  to  run  through  the  valley  of  hostile  intentions  towards  all 
the  American  settlers.  But  resentment  and  anticipations  of  evil  were  not  the 
sole  cause  of  this  movement.  There  cannot  now  be  a  doubt  that  it  was  prompted 
as  it  was  approved  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  that  Captain 
Fremont  obeyed  his  orders  no  less  than  his  own  feelings. 

Fremont  was  still  on  the  northern  side  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  when  the 
American  flag  was  hoisted  at  Monterey,  on  the  ever-memorable  seventh  day  of 
July,  1846. 

Before  the  war  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  fully  determined, 
so  far  as  that  matter  rested  with  the  Executive,  upon  the  conquest  and  perma- 
nent retention  of  California  as  soon  as  the  outbreak  of  war  should  offer  the  op- 
portunity. Orders,  in  anticipation  of  war,  were  issued  to  that  effect,  and  it  was 
under  these  orders  that  California  was  actually  taken.  The  danger  cf  that  day 
was  that  England  would  step  in  before  us.  Her  ships  were  watching  our  ships 
on  the  coast  of  Mexico.  The  British  pretext,  it  is  said,  was  to  have  been  to 
secure  an  equivalent  for  the  Mexican  debt  due  to  British  subjects;  and  it  is  un- 
derstood that  there  was  a  party  here  who  favored  this  design. 

Because  Commodore  Sloat  did  not  rush  to  the  execution  of  the  orders  issued 
in  anticipation  of  war,  on  the  very  first  report  of  a  collision  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  the  anxious  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  dreading  to  lose  the 
prize,  hotly  censured  him  in  a  letter  which  reached  him  after  the  event  had 
broken  the  sting  of  its  reproaches,  and  served  only  to  assure  him  how  well  he 
had  fulfilled  the  wishes  of  his  government.  The  flag  of  the  United  States  was 
no  sooner  flying  than  the  Collingwood  entered  the  bay  of  Monterey.  There 
had  been  a  race  between  the  Collingwood  and  the  Savannah.  What  a  moment 
that  was  for  us,  and  for  the  world  !  What  if  the  Collingwood  had  been  the 
swifter  sailer,  and  Sloat  had  found  the  English  flag  flying  on  the  shore  !  What 
if  we  had  been  born  on  another  planet !  The  cast  was  for  England  or  the 
United  States,  and  when  the  die  turned  for  us,  the  interest  was  at  sti  end. 

As  a  feat  of  arms  the  conquest  of  California  was  nothing  for  a  power  like  ours. 
Even  more  feeble  and  as  much  distracted  as  the  rest  of  Mexico,  and  with  but 
a  nominal  dependence  upon  the  central  government,  but  a  very  little  force  was 
sufficient  to  detach  California  forever  from  all  her  Spanish-American  connections. 
Whatever  of  military  credit  there  was  is  due  to  the  pioneers  who,  under  the  bear 
flag,  had,  before  they  heard  of  the  beginning  of  the  war,  with  an  admirable  in- 
stinct for  their  own  rights  and  the  interests  of  their  country,  rebelled  against 
any  further  Mexican  misrule,  or  a  sale  to  the  British.  The  loyalty  of  their 
sentiments  was  beautifully  illustrated  by  the  alacrity  with  which  they  relin- 
quished the  complete  independence  which  appeared  to  be  within  their  grasp,  and 
turned  over  their  conquests  and  the  further  service  of  their  rifles  to  the  country 
which  they  remembered  with  so  much  affection,  and  a  government  from  which 
they  would  suffer  themselves  to  look  for  nothing  but  wisdom  and  strength,  and 
a  tender  consideration  for  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  pioneer. 

For  three  years  and  a  half  when  there  was  no  war,  and  for  nearly  two  years 
after  there  was  a  declared  peace,  California  was  governed,  and  for  a  great  part 
of  the  time  heavily  taxed,  by  the  executive  branch  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  acting  through  military  officers.  This  I  note  as  an  anomaly  in 
the  experience  of  the  citizens  of  this  republic. 

California  separated  from  Mexico,  a  new  people  began  to  come  in  from  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  But  California  was  remote  and  yet  but  little  under- 
stood. Mr.  Webster  himself  spoke  of  her  as  almost  worthless,  except  for  the 


304  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND  TERRITORIES 

bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  as  though  the  soil  was  as  barren  and  thorny  as  the 
rocks  of  Lower  California.  Emigrants  came,  but  not  many — among  the  most 
remarkable  arrivals  being  the  ship  Brooklyn,  freighted  with  Mormons.  The 
soldiers  themselves  were  nothing  more  than  armed  colonists.  And  everything 
was  peaceful  and  dull,  until  suddenly,  when  no  man  expected,  there  came  a 
change  of  transcendent  magnitude. 

Gold  was  discovered  at  Coloma.  This  was  an  event  that  stirred  the  heart  ot 
the  whole  world.  The  motives  which  pervade  and  most  control  the  lives  of  men 
were  touched.  All  the  impulses  that  spring  from  necessity  and  hope  were 
quickened ;  and  a  movement. was  visible  among  mankind.  To  get  to  California, 
some  crossed  over  from  Buenos  Ay  res  to  Valparaiso,  scaling  the  Andes.  The 
Isthmus  of  Darien  became  a  common  thoroughfare.  Peaceful  invaders  entered 
Mexico  at  every  point,  and  on  every  route  startled  the  drowsy  muleteer  as  they 
passed  over  to  the  Pacific  where  the  coast  was  nearest,  or  pushed  on  directly 
for  California.  Constant  caravans  issued  from  our  own  borders,  traversed  every 
intervening  prairie,  and  explored  every  pass  and  gap  of  opposing  mountains. 
As  the  long  train  descended  to  the  valley,  perhaps  the  foremost  wagon  is  driven 
by  an  old  man,  who  when  he  was  a  boy  moved  out  in  this  way  from  Virginia 
to  Kentucky ;  and  passing  still  from  one  new  State  to  another,  now  when  he  is 
grown  gray  halts  his  team  at  last  upon  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Ships  sailed 
from  every  port  on  the  globe.  The  man  at  the  wheel,  in  every  sea,  steered  by 
the  star  that  led  to  San  Francisco.  So  came  the  emigrants  of  1849.  The 
occupation  of  California  was  now  complete,  and  she  became  a  part  of  the  world. 

The  sighs,  the  prayers,  the  toiling  and  the  watching  of  our  overwearied 
countrymen  on  these  long  painful  journeys  are  still  demanding  a  railroad  to  the 
Pacific. 

Eleven  years  are  passed,  and  have  they  no  voice  ?  We  looked  out  upon  a 
wide  expanse — uufenced,  untilled — and  though  nature  was  lovely,  our  hearts 
sunk  within  us.  Neither  the  priest  nor  the  ranchero  had  prepared  this  country 
for  our  habitation.  We  asked  who  shall  subdue  all  this  to  our  uses  ?  We  look 
again ;  and  now,  upon  a  landscape  chequered  with  smiling  farms  and  dotted 
with  cities  and  towns,  busy  and  humming  like  the  hive.  What  magic  is  it  that 
has  wrought  this  change  ?  On  every  hand,  with  one  acclaim,  comes  back  the 
answer.  Labor,  it  is  labor.  Of  our  eleven  years,  here  is  the  lesson.  Man's 
opinions  and  his  passions  were  but  insolence  and  vanity.  Boasting  and  praise 
made  but  the  greatness  of  the  passing  day.  And  labor,  only  labor,  has  survived. 
However  silent,  however  humble  and  unseen,  or  on  what  bestowed,  it  is  labor 
which  has  created  California,  and  which  rules  us  at  this  hour.  With  our  own 
eyes  this  we  have  seen,  and  of  our  knowledge  we  know  the  lesson  to  be  as  true 
as  it  is  old. 

California  in  full  possession  of  the  white  man,  and  embraced  within  the 
mighty  area  of  his  civilization  !  We  feel  the  sympathies  of  our  race  attract 
us.  We  see  in  our  great  movement  hitherward  in  1849  a  likeness  to  the 
times  when  our  ancestors,  their  wives  and  little  ones,  and  all  their  stuff  in 
wagons,  and  with  attendant  herds,  poured  forth  by  nations  and  in  never-ending 
columns  from  the  German  forests,  and  went  to  seek  new  pastures  and  to  found  new 
kingdoms  in  the  ruined  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire  :  or  when  swayed  by  an- 
other inspiration  they  cast  their  masses  upon  the  Saracens,  and  sought  to  rescue 
the  sepulchre  of  Christ  from  the  infidels.  We  recognize  that  we  are  but  the  fore- 
most rank  of  that  multitude  which  for  centuries  has  held  its  unwavering  course  out 
of  Europe  upon  America,  in  numbers  still  increasing ;  a  vast  unsummoned  host, 
self-marshaled,  leaderless,  an  innumerable,  moving  and  onward  forever,  to  possess 
and  people  another  continent.  Separated  but  in  space,  divided  but  by  the  accidents 
of  manners,  of  language  and  of  laws — from  Scandinavia  to  California — one  blood 


WEST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  305 

and  one  people.  Knowledge  is  but  the  conservation  of  his  thoughts,  art  but  the 
embodiment  of  his  conceptions,  letters  the  record  of  his  deeds.  Man  of  our 
race  has  crowned  the  earth  with  its  glory  !  And  still  in  the  series  of  his  works 
you  have  founded  a  State.  May  it  be  great  and  powerful  whilst  the  ocean  shall 
thunder  against  these  shores  !  You  have  planted  a  people  ;  may  they  be  pros- 
perous and  happy  whilst  summers  shall  return  to  bless  these  fields  with  plenty  ! 
And  may  the  name  of  the  pioneer  be  spoken  in  California  forever  ! 

Since  the  foregoing  address  was  delivered  the  following  letter  has  been  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Randolph  from  Mr.  Sprague,  a  gentleman  well  known  in  this 
city,  and  interesting  as  showing  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  thirty-five 
years  ago  : 

GENOA,  CARSON  VALLEY,  September  18,  1860. 

FRIEND  RANDOLPH  :  I  have  just  been  reading  your  address  before  the  So- 
ciety of  Pioneers.  I  have  known  of  the  J.  S.  Smith  you  mention,  by  reputa- 
tion, for  many  years.  He  was  the  first  white  man  that  ever  went  overland  from 
the  Atlantic  States  to  California.  He  was  a  chief  trader  in  the  employ  of  the 
American  Fur  Company.  At  the  rendezvous  of  the  company  on  Green  river, 
near  the  South  Pass,  in  1825,  Smith  was  directed  to  take  charge  of  a  party  of 
some  forty  men  (trappers)  and  penetrate  the  country  west  of  Salt  lake.  He 
discovered  what  is  now  called  Humboldt  river.  He  called  it  Mary's  river,  from 
his  Indian  wife  Mary.  It  has  always  been  known  as  Mary's  river  by  moun 
tain  men  since,  a  name  which  it  should  retain,  for  many  reasons. 

Smith  pushed  on  down  Mary's  river  ;  being  of  an  adventurous  nature,  when 
he  found  his  road  closed  by  high  mountains  he  determined  to  see  what  kind  of 
country  there  was  on  the  other  side.  It  is  not  known  exactly  where  he  crossed 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  but  it  is  supposed  that  it  must  have  been  not  far  from  where 
the  old  emigrant  road  crossed  near  the  head  of  the  Truckee.  He  made  his  way 
southerly  after  entering  the  valley  of  Sacramento,  passed,  through  San  Jose  and 
down  as  low  as  San  Diego.  After  recruiting  his  party  and  purchasing  a  large 
number  of  horses,  he  crossed  the  mountains  near  what  is  known  as  Walker's 
Pass,  skirted  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains  till  near  what  is  now  known 
as  Mono  lake,  when  he  steered  an  east-by-north  course  for  Salt  lake.  On  this 
portion  of  his  route  he  found  placer  gold  in  quantities,  and  brought  much  of  it 
with  him  to  the  encampment  on  Green  river. 

The  gold  that  he  brought  with  him,  together  with  his  description  of  the 
country  he  had  passed  through,  and  the  large  amount  of  furs,  pleased  the  agent 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  so  well  that  he  directed  Smith  again  to  make 
the  same  trip,  with  special  instructions  to  take  the  gold  fields  on  his  return  and 
thoroughly  prospect  them.  It  was  on  this  trip  that  he  wrote  the  letter  to 
Father  Duran.  The  trip  was  successful  until  they  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  gold  mines,  east  of  the  mountains,  when,  in  a  battle  with  the  Indians,  Smith 
and  nearly  all  of  his  men  were  killed.  A  few  of  the  party  escaped  and  reached 
the  encampment  on  Green  river.  This  defeat  damped  the  ardor  of  the  company 
so  much  that  they  never  looked  any  more  for  the  gold  mines. 

There  are  one  or  more  men  now  living  who  can  testify  to  the  truth  of  the 
above  statement,  and  who  can  give  a  fuller  statement  of  the  details  of  his  two 
journeys  than  I  can. 

The  man  Smith  was  a  man  of  far  more  than  average  ability,  and  had  a  bet- 
ter education  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  mountain  men.  Few  or  none  of  them  were 
his  equals  in  auv  respect.  *****  * 

x  THOMAS  SPRAGUE. 

EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  Esq.,  San  Francisco. 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 20 


306  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

APPENDIX  2. 

Address  on  the  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States,  delivered  before 
the  Corporate  Society  of  California  Pioneers,  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  in 
the  city  of  San  "Francisco,  on  September  10, 1866,  on  occasion  of  the  sixteenth 
anniversary  of  the  admission  of  the  State  of  California  into  the  federal 
Union.  By  John  W.  Dwindle,  a  member  of  that  society,  president  of  the  Ethno- 
Historical  Society  of  San  Francisco,  member  of  the  Ethnological  Society  of 
New  York,  and  of  the  Historical  Society  of  New  York. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  BROTHER  PIONEERS  :  It  has  been  suggested  to  me,  by 
the  committee  through  whose  hands  I  received  your  invitation  to  address  you 
at  this  time,  that  I  should  give  a  historical  character  to  my  address.  I  was 
glad  to  receive  this  intimation,  for  it  accorded  perfectly  with  my  own  desire. 
The  great  events  of  history,  when  not  sufficiently  remote  to  be  counted  by  cen- 
turies, are  commonly  reckoned  by  decades,  or  periods  of  ten  years.  We  are  met 
on  the  occasion  of  the  sixteenth  anniversary  of  the  admission  of  California  into 
the  federal  Union  of  the  United  States.  But,  presuming  upon  your  assent,  I  shall 
dedicate  a  portion  of  these  exercises  to  the  celebration  of  two  other  historical 
events  of  signal  interest  and  importance,  namely  :  the  conquest  of  California  by 
the  United  ,vtates,  which  took  place  twenty  years  ago,  on  the  7th  day  of  July, 
A.  D.  1846,  and  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco,  which  was  consummated 
ninety  years  ago,  on  the  17th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1776.  Two  decades 
have  therefore  elapsed  since  California  has  become  Anglo-American,  and  nine 
decades  since  San  Francisco  was  inscribed  upon  the  map  of  political  geography. 
It  will  therefore  be  peculiarly  interesting  on  this  occasion  to  cast  a  retrospect- 
ive glance  into  history,  and  to  inquire  how  it  has  come  to  pass  that  we  are  here, 
and  by  what  title  we  claim  to  possess  this  fair  California  of  ours. 

IGNORANCE    OF    EARLY   GEOGRAPHERS. 

It  was  only  by  accident,  after  all,  that  Columbus  discovered  the  vast  region 
of  continents  and  islands  which  are  now  called  America.  He  was  not  in  quest 
of  new  continents,  nor  of  the  golden-fruited  gardens  of  the  Hesperides.  Believ- 
ing, from  inductive  reasoning,  that  the  earth  was  round,  but  with  very  imperfect 
notions  of  its  magnitude,  he  was  firmly  persuaded  that  by  sailing  in  a  westerly 
direction  from  the  coast  of  Spain,  he  would  in  due  time  arrive  on  the  coast  of 
China,  which  was  then  classed  as  a  portion  of  the  Indies  ;  and  when  he  dis- 
covered the  first  American  islands,  believing  that  he  had  already  reached  the 
Indies,  he  gave  to  the  natives  the  name  of  Indians,  which  inaccurate  classifi- 
cation they  have  ever  since  retained.  Looking  over  the  books  and  maps  of  the 
old  geographers,  it  is  curious  and  wonderful  to  observe  how  much  they  did 
know,  and  how  much  they  did  not  know,  of  the  geography  of  the  northwestern 
coast  of  America  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  after  the  discoveries  made 
by  Columbus.  Although  Cortez,  when  he  fell  into  that  inevitable  disgrace 
with  which  the  kings  of  Spain  have  always  rewarded  their  greatest  benefactors, 
sent  out  various  expeditions  from  Mexico  for  the  exploration  of  the  northwest- 
ern coast,  and  even  accompanied  some  of  them  as  far  as  La  Paz,  in  Lower  Cal- 
ifornia, and  although  the  viceroys  who  succeeded  him  sent  out  various  expedi- 
tions within  fifty  years  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  both  by  sea  and  by  land, 
which  must  have  penetrated  as  far  north  as  the  42d  degree  of  latitude,  yet  the 
physical  geography  of  that  region  remained  in  the  most  mythical  condition,  and 
the  very  existence  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  was  contested  as  fabulous  by  the 
Spanish  viceroys  of  New  Spain  less  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  There  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  library  of  this  city  an  engraved  map  of  the  world, 
published  at  Venice  in  the  year  1546,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  general  accu- 
racy, and  for  the  beauty  of  its  execution  ;  but  on  this  map,  at  the  latitude  of  San 


WEST    OF    THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  307 

Francisco,  the  American  continent  is  represented  as  sweeping  around  in  a 
large  circle,  and  forming  a  junction  with  that  of  Asia ;  while  the  Colorado, 
the  largest  river  in  the  world,  rising  in  the  mountains  of  Thibet,  and 
meandering  through  a  course  of  15,000  or  20,000  miles,  pours  its  vast 
volume  of  waters  into  the  Gulf  of  California.  In  the  year  1588,  a  Span- 
ish captain  of  marine,  named  Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado,  published  an  ae- 
count  of  a  voyage  which  he  pretended  to  have  made  from  the  Atlantic  ocean, 
through  the  Northern  sea,  to  the  Pacific,  and  thence  to  China,  giving  all  its 
geographical  details  and  personal  incidents.  This  apocryphal  voyage  proved  a 
delusion  and  a  stumbling-block  to  historians  and  voyagers  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  and  it  was  not  until  the  year  1791  that  two  Spanish  frigates, 
sent  out  for  that  purpose  by  authority  of  the  King  of  Spain,  by  a  thorough 
exploration  of  the  extreme  northwestern  coast,  established  the  fact  that  a  pas- 
sage through  the  North  sea  did  not  exiet,  and  that  the  pretensions  of  Maldonado 
were  utterly  false.  It  is  only  within  a  comparatively  recent  period  that  the  fact 
has  been  generally  received  in  modern  geography  that  California  was  connected 
with  the  main  continent,  and  was  not  an  island.  In  Ogilvie's  "  America,  being 
the  latest  and  most  accurate  account  of  the  New  World,"  a  most  elegant  and 
luxurious  folio,  published  in  London  in  the  year  1671,  California  is  laid  down 
as  an  island,  extending  from  Cape  St.  Lucas,  in  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  to  the 
45th  degree  of  latitude,  and  including  the  famous  New  Albion  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake.  The  same  map  is  reproduced  by  Captain  Shelvocke,  of  the  royal  navy, 
in  his  account  of  his  "Voyage  Around  the  World  by  way  of  the  South  Sea," 
in  his  Majesty's  ship-of-war,  published  in  London  in  1726  ;  and  in  a  geograph- 
ical work  published  in  London  in  the  same  year,  by  "Daniel  Coxe,  esq.,"  an 
account  is  given  of  "a  new  and  curious  discovery  and  relation  betwixt  the  river 
Meschachebe  (Mississippi)  and  the  South  sea,  which  separates  America  from 
China  by  means  of  several  large  rivers  and  lakes,  with  a  description  of  the 
coast  of  the  said  sea  to  the  Straits  of  Uries,  as  also  of  a  rich  and  considerable 
trade  to  be  carried  on  from  thence  to  Japan,  China,  and  Tartary."  I  cannot 
ascertain  that  California  was  relieved  of  its  insular  character  among  geographers 
until  the  publication  of  a  map  by  Father  Begert,  a  missionary  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  in  an  account  of  Lower  California  which  he  printed  at  Manheim  in  the 
year  1771,  on  his  return  to  Germany  after  his  order  had  been  expelled,  in  1769, 
by  order  of  the  King  of  Spain,  from  the  missions  which  they  had  successfully 
established  among  the  Indians  of  Lower  California.  Even  after  it  was  ad- 
mitted that  California  was  not  an  island,  but  a  part  of  the  main  land,  the  most 
indefinite  notions  prevailed  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  Gulf  of  California 
penetrated  towards  the  north;  and  to  the  very  last  of  the  Spanish  and  Mexican 
dominion,  when  any  specific  description  was  given  to  California  in  official  docu- 
ments, it  was  spoken  of  as  a  peninsula. 

OUR    TITLE    TO    CALIFORNIA. 

If  a  Californian  of  ordinary  historical  intelligence  were  asked  by  what  legal 
title  we  assume  to  possess  this  country,  after  following  the  chain  through  Mexico 
to  Spain  he  would  probably  pause  for  Want  of  further  specific  information,  or, 
at  the  most,  suggest  that  Spain  derived  her  title  to  California  through  the  right 
of  first  discovery.  If  he  were  told  that  all  the  rights  of  Spain,  and  our  rights 
through  her,  to  this  land  were  derived  entirely  from  a  grant  made  to  Spain  by 
the  Pope,  he  would  undoubtedly  be  greatly  surprised;  yet  such  is  the  historical 
fact.  Previous  to  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  in  1492,  the  Portu- 
guese had  discovered  the  Azore  islands,  in  longitude  31  west,  and  on  the  strength 
of  that  discovery  claimed  that  the  countries  discovered  by  Columbus  belonged 
to  the  crown  of  Portugal,  and  that  the  Spaniards  should  be  wholly  excluded 
from  them,  But  the  Spaniards  refused  to  admit  this  pretension,  and  referred 


308  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

the  matter  for  decision  to  the  then  Pope,  Alexander  VI.  It  was  then  a  part  of 
the  law  of  nations,  ancl  of  the  public  law  of  the  world,  that  the  Pope  was 
the  ultimate  source  of  all  temporal  power ;  that  he  could  make  and  unmake 
kings,  and  dispose  of  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth — powers  which  he  fre- 
quently exercised,  and  against  which  it  were  vain  to  contend.  He  was,  there- 
fore, by  general  consent,  the  acknowledged  source  of  all  lawful  title  to  land. 
He  assumed  to  decide  the  case  thus  referred  to  his  decision,  and  on  May  3,  A. 
D.  1493,  determined  the  matter  in  dispute  between  the  crowns  of  Portugal 
and  Spain  by  drawing  an  imaginary  line  of  longitude  one  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  Azores,  and  granting  to  the  Spanish  monarchs  all  countries 
inhabited  by  infidels  which  they  had  already  discovered,  or  might  afterwards 
discover,  lying  to  the  west,  and  to  the  crown  of  Portugal  all  those  lying  to  the 
east  of  that  line.  This  line  was  afterwards  removed  two  hundred  and  seventy 
leagues  further  to  the  west,  by  a  treaty  subsequently  made,  in  the  year  1494, 
between  the  Kings  of  Portugal  and  Spain  ;  but  so  thoroughly  was  the  title  thus 
conceded  by  the  Pope  respected  by  the  civilized  world  that  when  Henry  VII 
of  England  was  afterwards  about  to  intrude  upon  "some  of  the  dominions  thus 
granted  to  Spain,  he  abandoned  his  project  011  being  warned  by  the  Pope  to 
desist.  Our  title  to  California  is  therefore  deduced  from  the  grant  by  the  Pope 
to  Spain,  from  Spain  by  revolution  to  Mexico,  from  Mexico  by  conquest  and 
treaty  to  the  United  States,  and  from  the  United  States,  by  the  operation  of 
various  grants  and  political  acts,  to  the  State  and  people  of  California. 

At  the  time  when  this  partition  was  thus  made  by  the  Pope  between  the 
crowns  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  earth  was  supposed  to  consist  of  a  large 
plain,  even  although  Columbus  had  been  prompted  to  his  discoveries  from  his  in- 
ference that  the  earth  was  a  sphere,  because  in  eclipses  it  cast  a  circular  shadow 
tipon  the  disc  of  the  moon.  It  was  not  until  the  voyage  of  Magellan,  concluded 
in  the  year  1521,  by  which  they  reached  the  Spice  islands  of  Portugal,  in  the 
East  Indies,  by  sailing  westward  from  Spain,  that  it  was  proved  by  actual 
demonstration  that  the  earth  was  round,  and  the  world  learned  that  neither  our 
spiritual  teachers,  nor  even  the  Scriptures  themselves,  were  given  to  us  to  teach 
us  lessons  in  geography. 

OUR    POSITION    HERE    NOT    AN    ACCIDENTAL   ONE. 

Our  position,  as  possessors  of  this  land  of  realized  promise  and  of  future  hope, 
is  by  no  means  an  accidental  one.  The  popular  notion  probably  is  that  the 
acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States  was  one  of  the  accidental  conse- 
quences of  our  war  with  Mexico,  which  broke  out  in  1846.  On  the  contrary, 
the  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States  was  the  result  of  plans  long 
matured  and  persistently  followed,  and  of  a  train  of  causes  carefully  laid  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  during  nearly  half  a  century  before  its  con- 
summation. Nay,  more :  not  only  the  United  States,  but  the  governments  of 
England,  France,  and  Russia  had  determined  to  acquire  California ;  and  it  was 
only  by  superior  promptness  and  skill  that  the  United  States  finally  became 
the  winners  in  the  race.  The  very  plan  lately  attempted  to  be  put  into  execu- 
tion by  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  of  placing  and  maintaining  an  Austrian 
archduke  upon  an  imperial  throne  in  Mexico,  was  not  conceived  by  Napoleon 
III,  but  was  matured  and  published  to  the  .world  by  the  government  of  Louis 
Philippe  as  early  as  the  year  1844,  four  years  before  the  French  revolution  of 
1848,  and  was  a  part  of  a  scheme  devised  by  the  French  government  to  pre- 
vent England  or  the  United  States  from  getting  possession  of  Mexico,  in  case 
France  could  not  gain  it  for  herself.  From  this  programme,  published  by  the 
order  of  Louis  Philippe  by  Marshal  Soult,  his  minister  of  war,  we  shall  gather 
easily  the  charges  made  by  France  against  Mexico  before  the  tribunal  of  the 
public  opinion  of  the  world,  by  which  Louis  Philippe  attempted  to  justify,  in 


WEST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  300 

advance,  that  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  Mexico  which  his  government  was 
the  first  to  propose,  and  which  that  of  Napoleon  III  has  since  attempted  to 
effectuate.  The  following  are  the  principal  features  of  these  charges  : 

JLOUIS  PHILLIPPE'S  BILL  OF  INDICTMENT  AGAINST  MEXICO. 

Mexico  was  always  prosperous  under  the  rule  of  her  Spanish  kings.  Private 
enterprises  succeeded;  agriculture  and  mines  were  successful  and  remunerative; 
public  works  were  constructed  of  utility,  magnitude,  and  permanence ;  religion 
and  public  and  private  morality  prevailed  ;  the  finances  of  the  country  were  suc- 
cessful and  prosperous  ;  the  people  were  contented  and  happy.  The  attainment 
of  independence  from  the  mother  country  has  completely  reversed  these  happy 
conditions.  There  is  now  no  security  for  property  or  for  private  enterprise.  The 
agriculture  of  the  country  is  becoming  reduced  to  the  rudest  processes,  its  products 
are  diminishing  from  year  to  year,  and  the  lands  are  returning  to  waste ;  the  mines 
are  neglected  and  deserted,  and  falling  into  a  state  of  ruin.  Public  works  are  no 
longer  constructed,  and  those  which  were  erected  under  the  dominion  of  Spain 
are  mostly  deserted  and  falling  into  a  condition  of  dilapidation  and  ruin.  The 
priesthood  is  becoming  corrupt,  and  public  and  private  morals  are  rapidly  fall- 
ing to  the  lowest  point  of  degradation.  The  finances  of  the  country  have  long 
since  been  in  a  condition  of  insolvency,  and  the  expenditures  have  for  many 
years  exceeded  the  receipts  by  an  annual  deficiency  of  several  millions  of  dol- 
lars. The  army  is  composed  of  bandits ;  it  is  recruited  by  taking  from  the 
public  prisons  convicted  murderers  and  other  malefactors,  who  have  yet  to  serve 
a  term  of  imprisonment  not  less  than  ten  years,  and  granting  them  a  free  pardon 
on  condition  of  their  serving  five  years  as  soldiers.  The  officers  of  the  army, 
who,  under  the  government  of  Spain,  belonged  to  distinguished  and  educated 
families,  are  now  drawn  from  the  most  despicable  classes,  or  rise  by  promotion 
from  the  ranks  of  this  bandit  soldiery ;  and  the  disproportion  of  officers  is  so 
great  that  the  army  of  20,000  soldiers  is  commanded  by  84,000  officers,  who 
are  entirely  deficient  in  military  faith  and  personal  honor ;  they  murder  in  cold 
blood  their  political  and  military  prisoners ;  they  protect  robbers  and  share 
their  spoils  ;  they  are  accomplices  in  assassination  and  murder ;  and  theft  si 
practiced  by  every  one  from  the  President  of  the  republic  down  to  the  lowest 
officers  of  the  custom-house.  Republican  Mexico  has  always  been  the  enemy 
of  France,  oppressed  her  commerce,  and  practiced  the  moat  atrocious  tyranny 
upon  our  citizens  resident  in  her  territory.  She  has  discriminated  against 
French  products,  first  by  her  tariffs,  and  afterwards  in  the  manner  in  which  she 
has  executed  her  custom-house  regulations.  She  has,  on  the  most  frivolous 
and  unlawful  pretences,  confiscated  the  property  of  French  merchants,  for 
which  acts  of  robbery  and  violence  she  owes  them  at  this  time  several  millions 
of  dollars,  for  which  she  refuses  to  make  them  the  least  compensation.  She 
has  thus  fallen  to  the  lowest  condition  of  insolvency,  brigandage,  and  ruin. 
She  is  a  public  nuisance  and  robber  on  the  highway  of  nations  ;  and  any 
nation,  especially  those  having  claims  against  her,  has  a  right,  as  a  matter  of 
international  policy,  to  interfere  and  establish  a  solid  government  in  Mexico, 
which  shall  fulfil  the  obligations  of  national  faith  towards  the  •world,  maintain 
order,  decency,  and  morality,  and  secure  life,  liberty,  and  property  within  her 
own  borders.  This  can  be  done  only  by  the  establishment  of  a  Mexican  mon- 
archy ;  for  republican  institutions  have  been  tried  there,  and  have  resulted  in  an 
utter  and  hopeless  failure.  The  best  citizens  of  Mexico  desire  the  re-establisn- 
ment  of  a  monarchy  ;  those  who  are  distinguished  for  their  piety,  morality, 
culture,  and  the  possession  of  property  are  willing  to  pledge  themselves  in  ad- 
vance to  the  support  of  the  movement.  Some  of  her  most  distinguished  states- 
men, in  the  face  of  threats  of  assassination,  have  already  publicly  declared,  in 
the  capital  of  Mexico,  that  the  adoption  of  this  plan  presented  the  only  possible 


310  EESOUECES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

hope  for  the  restoration  of  Mexico  to  a  condition  of  respectability  and  pros- 
perity. "  But  there  are  certain  conditions  necessary  to  the  success  of  this 
scheme.  The  new  monarchs  of  Mexico  must  he  Catholic,  and  must  have  fam- 
ily ties  connecting  them  with  the  dynasties  which  formerly  ruled  in  Mexico. 
The  infantas  of  Spain,  the  French  princes,  and  the  archdukes  of  Austria  possess 
these  requisites,  and  any  one  of  them  would  be  unanimously  welcomed  by  the 
Mexican  population.  The  establishment  of  any  monarchy  whatsoever  in  Mex- 
ico is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  policy  of  France,  for  a  stable  govern- 
ment erected  there  would  at  once  remove  the  disabilities  and  oppression  to  which 
our  commerce  and  citizens  are  subjected  in  that  country  ;  and  this  can  easily 
be  accomplished,  for  a  column  of  3,000  infantry,  and  a  few  vessels-of-war  dis- 
tributed upon  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  are  all  that  is  wanted  to  subdue 
the  empire  of  Montezuma,  whose  conquest  would  be  easier  to-day  than  it  was 
in  the  time  of  Hernando  Cortez !" 

LOUIS  PHILIPPE  ENFORCES  THE  NECESSITY  OF  PROMPT  ACTION. 

But,  continues  the  programme,  if  a  Catholic  monarchy  is  to  be  established  in 
Mexico,  it  should  be  done  at  once.  The  English,  among  all  foreign  nations, 
have  a  preponderating  political  and  commercial  interest  in  Mexico.  English 
subjects  own  a  large  portion  of  the  funded  debt  of  Mexico,  upon  which  the 
annual  interest  is  not  paid,  although  pretended  to  be  secured  by  an  illusory 
charge  upon  the  customs.  She  is  ready,  therefore,  at  any  moment,  to  make 
this  a  pretext  for  seizing  any  portion  of  the  coast  or  territory  of  the  republic. 
She  has  already  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  revolted  provinces  of 
Texas,  with  a  view  of  taking  them  under  her  protection,  or  of  establishing  even 
more  intimate  political  relations  with  them.  She  has  by  her  intrigues  hitherto 
prevented  the  United  States  from  acquiring  any  portion  of  the  Mexican  terri- 
tory ;  and,  if  she  retains  her  present  influence  at  Mexico,  and  still  more,  if 
she  adds  to  it  by  gaining  any  territory  there,  or  in  any  other  manner,  the 
results  cannot  fail  to  be  most  disastrous  to  the  interests  of  France. 

The  United  States,  too,  have  for  more  than  forty  years  looked  upon  the 
territories  of  Mexico  with  that  covetousness  of  acquisition  which  has  ever 
distinguished  that  'energetic  people.  The  expedition  of  Burr  would  have 
been  hailed  with  favor  if  it  had  been  successful,  and  his  acquittal  by  a  jury 
must  be  taken  as  evidence  of  the  popular  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  objects  of 
his  expedition.  After  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France,  and  by  the 
treaty  of  Florida,  so  called,  and  by  other  subsequent  treaties,  the  United  States 
gained  a  large  extension  of  territory  in  the  direction  of  the  Pacific,  and  brought 
down  their  possessions  in  Oregon  and  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  the  forty-second 
parallel  of  latitude.  They  even  sought,  by  other  propositions  communicated 
to  the  court  of  Spain  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  defining  the  boundaries  be- 
tween the  two  countries  south  of  that  parallel,  and  proposing  limits  which  were 
altogether  too  vague  for  geographical  or  political  boundaries,  but  which  they 
would  have  found  sufficiently  specific  for  the  purpose  of  intrusion,  to  gain  a 
further  extension  of  territory  in  the  direction  of  New  Mexico  ;  but  these  latter 
propositions  werft  indignantly  rejected  by  the  Spanish  monarchy.  But  since 
the  establishment  of  Mexican  independence,  and  the  weakness,  demoralization 
and  ruin  which  have  resulted  from  it,  Mexico  has  seemed  to  the  United 
States  to  have  become  an  easy  prey  to  their  grasping  ambition.  They 
have  permitted  their  own  citizens  to  pass  in  armed  bands  over  their  borders 
into  Texas,  and  there  to  stir  up  revolt,  which  has  culminated  in  successful 
revolution ;  they  have  acknowledged  the  independence  of  that  country  with  the 
view  to  its  annexation  to  the  Union  as  one  of  the  federal  States.  A  treaty  of 
annexation  is  at  this  moment  in  progress  between  Texas  and  the  United  States, 
and  will  doubtless  be  accomplished  as  the  crowning  act  of  the  present  aclminis- 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  311 

tration  of  President  Tyler.  When  that  treaty  is  ratified  by  the  contracting 
parties,  the  military  establishment  of  Texas  will  be  occupied  by  the  forces  of 
the  United  States,  and  war  will  immediately  ensue  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Mexican  republic.  That  war  can  issue  in  but  one  result :  the  armies 
of  the  United  States  will  overrun  and  occupy  the  territories  of  the  weaker 
republic,  and  they  will  be  at  once  and  forever  absorbed  in  the  domain  of  the 
federal  Union.  If  France,  therefore,  determines  to  protect  her  interests  by  the 
establishment  of  a  Catholic  monarchy  in  Mexico,  she  should  act  promptly  *nd 
decisively. 

LOUIS    PHILIPPE    CONSIDERS  THE  DOMINION    OF  THE    UNITED  STATES  IN  MEXICO 
PREFERABLE    TO    THAT    OF    ENGLAND. 

But  if  Mexico  is  still  to  exist  under  a  republican  government,  it  is  much 
better  for  the  interests  of  France  that  she  should  be  absorbed  by  the  North 
American  Union  than  that  England  should  either  maintain  or  increase  her 
influence  there.  The  people  of  the  United  States  have  a  strong  instinct  for  a 
government  of  law,  and  even  the  administration  of  their  famous  "  lynch  law," 
in  their  newly  settled  territories,  arises  from  their  sentiment  of  order.  Under 
their  rigid  administration,  the  persons  and  property  of  French  citizens  in  Mex- 
ico would  be  protected  and  respected,  and  we  should  not  be  compelled  to  make 
vain  reclamations  on  the  government  for  official  robberies  and  confiscations. 
The  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  favorable  and  even 
friendly  to  France,  and  under  their  dominion  we  should  not  have  occasion  to 
complain  of  odious  and  hostile  discriminations  against  cmr  commerce,  and  what 
we  should  gain  in  these  respects,  England  would  be  certain  to  lose.  She  would 
no  longer  be  the  nation  favored  either  by  the  terms  of  the  laws,  or  by  their  vio- 
lation in  her  behalf,  but  would  be  reduced,  at  least,  to  a  position  of  equal  com- 
petition in  matters  of  commerce,  which  is  all  that  France  desires.  Our  property 
would  be  respected,  the  lives  of  our  citizens  would  be  secured,  and,  on  equal 
terms,  we  could  exchange  our  products  for  the  agricultural  and  mineral  riches  of 
Mexico. 

GRANDEUR    OF    THE    AMERIGO-MEXICAN    DOMINION. 

This  programme  of  the  government  of  Louis  Philippe  concludes  with  a  pre- 
diction of  the  future  greatness  of  the  United  States,  which  might  well  excite  the 
envy  of  the  most  enthusiastic  eulogist  of  "  the  American  bird  of  liberty  :" 

"  If  this  takes  place,  the  Union  will  command  the  Pacific  ocean,  through  that 
part  of  the  territory  of  Oregon  which  will  belong  to  her — through  California  and 
the  western  coast  of  Mexico,  Guatemala,  Central  America,  and  New  Granada. 
On  the  east,  she  will  be  mistress  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  from  Canada  to  the  Isth- 
mus of  Darien,  and  thus  will  threaten  the  group  of  islands  situated  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  Caribbean  sea." 

FAILURE    OF   THE    FRENCH    PROGRAMME    IN    MEXICO. 

It  is  instructive  to  pause  a  moment  and  contemplate  the  results  of  this  pro- 
posed scheme  for  the  overthrow  of  republican  institutions  and  the  establishment 
of  a  monarchy  in  Mexico.  Louis  Philippe,  its  responsible  author,  and  the  crafty 
schemer  who  prostituted  the  interests  of  France  to  the  aggrandizement  of  his 
own  family,  and  who  had  thus  published  to  the  world  this  libellous  imputation 
of  degeneracy  and  weakness  against  the  republic  of  Mexico,  was  himself,  within 
four  years  afterwards,  driven  from  the  throne,  and  his  dynasty  subverted,  with- 
out his  having  the  courage  to  permit  a  single  musket-shot  to  be  fired  in  their 
defence.  His  scheme  has  since  been  taken  up  by  his  successor,  Napoleon  III, 
a  monarch  of  greater  sagacity,  resources,  and  force  of  will.  But  the  Mexican 


312  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

population  has  not  received  an  Austrian  archduke  as  their  emperor  with  unani- 
mous acclamations;  a  column  of  three  thousand  men  lias  not  conquered -the 
Empire  of  Montezuma;  and  the  republic  of  Mexico  still  lives  ! 

ATTEMPTS  OF  VARIOUS  GOVERNMENTS  TO  ACQUIRE  CALIFORNIA. 

But  while  a  covetousness  of  all  the  territories  of  the  Mexican  republic  was 
thus  charged  upon  some  of  the  great  political  powers  of  the  world,  upon  circum- 
stances of  mere  suspicion,  the  desire  to  acquire  California  was  openly  avowed 
by  several  of  them,  and  made  equally  manifest  by  the  acts  of  others.  France, 
in  particular,  endeavored  to  qualify  herself  for  the  conquest  of  California,  by  a 
previous  exploration  of  the  country  of  the  most  thorough  and  accurate  character. 
In  1841,  Marshal  Soult,  the  French  minister  of  war,  detached  from  the  French 
legation  at  Mexico  one  of  its  attaches,  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  a  gentleman  per- 
fectly competent  for  that  purpose,  with  directions  to  make  a  thorough  explora- 
tion of  California  in  respect  to  military  resources,  geography,  agriculture,  natural 
history,  meteorology,  geology,  population,  and  civil  and  political  history.  This 
work  he  accomplished  during  a  sojourn  of  two  years,  during  which,  as  he  him- 
self states,  he  visited  every  mission,  every  village,  and  every  rancho  in  Califor- 
nia. The  results  of  his  exploration  were  published  to  the  world  by  the  French 
government  at  the  same  time  with  their  programme  in  regard  to  Mexico,  of  which 
I  have  above  spoken.  This  publication  was  accompanied  with  charts  of  all  the 
harbors  on  the  coast  of  California,  with  their  soundings  ;  with  the  most  explicit 
and  accurate  directions  for  entering  them  from  the  ocean;  and  with  plans  of  all 
the  forts  and  presidios  of  California,  which  were  so  accurate  that  a  distinguished 
military  officer  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  I  lent  them,  was  enabled  to  re- 
trace, at  San  Diego,  the  lines  of  some  of  the  old  fortifications  there,  respecting 
which  the  officers  in  command  at  that  station  could  not  obtain  any  other  reliable 
information. 

I  shall  trespass  upon  the  patience  of  my  audience  by  reproducing  many  of  the 
details  of  the  report  of  this  remarkable  exploration.  The  inhabitants,  saidDe  Mofras, 
in  substance,  are  very  friendly  to  France,  for  they  are  tired  of  the  republic,  and 
desire  a  return  to  the  old  form  of  government.  They  hate  the  Americans,  because 
they  are  rapacious,  protestant,  and  republican.  They  incline  towards  France, 
because  she  is  monarchical,  powerful,  catholic,  and  is  of  the  same  Latin  race  to 
which  they  themselves  belong.  They  have  a  presentiment  of  the  approaching 
downfall  of  the  Mexican  republic,  and  would  hail  in  advance  their  annexation 
to  a  strong  European  monarchy.  The  Americans,  however,  and  the  English, 
have  set  their  hearts  upon  the  acquisition  of  California.  England  has  already 
offered  to  take  California  in  payment  of  that  portion  of  the  public  debt  of 
Mexico  which  is  held  by  British  subjects,  amounting  to  several  millions  sterling 
and  to  liquidate  that  debt  herself,  while  the  United  States  have  already  offered 
$5,000,000  for  that  portion  of  California  lying  north  of  a  line  of  latitude  drawn 
at  equal  distances  from  the  bay  cf  San  Francisco  and  that  of  Monterey. 
While  I  was  at  San  Francisco  I  visited  a  fleet  of  American  vessels-bf-war 
(Wilkes's  exploring  expedition)  lying  in  the  harbor  there,  and  was  received 
hospitably  on  board  by  the  officers,  who  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  executing  a  thorough  survey  of  the  harbor  and  of  the  surrounding  country. 
During  my  stay  in  California  I  also  visited  English  men-of-war  lying  in  the 
same  harbor,  an$  evidently  sent  there  for  the  same  purpiose.  English  men-of-war 
are  almost  always  constantly  cruising  on  the  coast,  as  if  waiting  for  a  pretext 
or  opportunity  to  seize  the  country.  The  Americans  have  constantly  a  naval 
force  upon  the  coast,  with  instructions  to  seize  the  capital  upon  probable  in- 
formation of  a  rupture  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States.  And  in  the 
year  1842,  Commodore  Jones,  upon  such  a  rumor,  which  afterwards  proved  to 
be  unfounded,  actually  seized  Monterey,  the  capital  of  California,  and  raised  the 


WEST   OP   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  313 

American  flag  there;  Jmt,  upon  learning  that  the  information  upon  which  he 
had  acted  was  not  true,  he  restored  the  place  to  ,the  California  authorities; 
"yet,  in  my  opinion,  having  once  taken  it,  he  would  have  done  better  to  have 
kept  it,  and  also  to  have  seized  the  port  of  San  Francisco."  There  are  many 
persons  in  California  who  are  friendly  to  France,  and  who  can  be  very  useful 
to  us;  one  of  our  countrymen,  Maturin,  at  San  Francisco;  Baric,  a  French- 
man, at  Los  Angeles  ;  Sunol,  a  Spaniard  by  birth,  who  served  in  the  French 
navy,  who  speaks  our  language  well,  who  was  on  the  French  brig  which 
Napoleon  quitted,  in  1815,  when  he  surrendered  himself  to  the  captain  of  the 
Bellerophon.  The  most  important  point  on  the  northwestern  coast  of  the 
Pacific  is  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  which  is  in  reality  the  key  of  the  north- 
west coast  of  America  and  of  the  northern  Pacific  ocean,  Captain  Beechey, 
of  the  royal  British  navy,  in  1813,  describes  it  as  being  "  sufficiently  extensive  to 
contain  all  the  British  navy,  well  sheltered,  and  with  good  anchorage  every  where, 
surrounded  with  a  country  varied  with  hills  and  valleys,  partly  wooded  anil 
partly  of  fine  pasturage,  and  abounding  with  cattle  of  every  kind."  "  It  is 
easy  to  enter  this  harbor  from  the  ocean,"  says  De  Mofras ;  <k  one  should,  after 
crossing  the  bar,  lay  well  to  the  south,  having  the  island  of  Alcatraz  on  a  line 
with  the  fort,  and  then,  on  approaching  the  gate  or  strait,  one  should  keep  in 
the  centre  until  Point  Bonita  is  well  passe/l,  and  then  sail  well  over  to  the 
north.  There  is  a  dangerous  reef,  called  Blossom  rock,  which  lies  on  a  line 
drawn  from  the  southwestern  point  of  Yerba  Buena  island  and  that  of  Alcatraz, 
which  is  to  be  avoided;  but  just  behind  the  point  of  Saucelito  lives  an  English- 
man, who  is  married  to  a  native  Californian,  one  Captain  Richardson,  who  is 
captain  of  the  port,  and  an  excellent  pilot.  There  is  no  military  force  in  Cali- 
fornia. There  are  no  garrisons  at  the  presidios.  The  gun-carriages  at  the  forts 
have  rotted  away,  and  the  guns,  which  were  mostly  cast  at  Manilla,  more  than 
a  hundred  years  ago,  lie  rusting  on  the  ground.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  Cali- 
fornia will  belong  to  whatsoever  nation  will  take  the  trouble  to  send  there  a  ship- 
of-war  and  two  hundred  soldiers." 

EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  OBTAIN  POSSESSION  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Having  thus  giving  a  re'sume  of  the  French  report  of  our  own  intentions  and 
desires  respecting  the  acquisition  of  California,  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  an  au- 
thentic account  of  them,  and  of  those  of  other  governments.  It  is  true,  as  above 
stated,  that  the  English  offered  to  receive  Upper  California  in  payment  of  a  portion 
of  the  public  debt  of  Mexico  ;  and  it  is  also  undoubtedly  true  that  the  English 
were  prepared  to  avail  themselves  of  the  pretext  of  an  indemnity  for  that  debt 
to  take  possession  of  California  upon  any  favorable  conjuncture.  It  is  also  true 
that  the  acquisition  of  California  had  long  been  an  object  much  desired  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  As  early  as  the  year  1835  President  Jackson 
proposed  to  the  government  of  Mexico  to  purchase  that  portion  lying  east  and 
north  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rio 
Bravo  del  Norte  up  to  the  37th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  thence  along  that 
parallel  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  This  would  have  included  within  the  proposed 
cession  to  the  United  States  all  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  the  territory  to 
the  north  and  east  of  it,  and  have  left  to  the  south  the  bay  of  Monterey.  This 
proposition  was  favorably  received  by  the  Mexican  government,  and  would 
doubtless  have  been  accepted  had  i\  not  been  for  the  intrigues  and  powerful  re- 
monstrances of  the  British  diplomatic  representatives.  The  American  govern- 
ment, however,  did  not  relinquish  its  designs,  nor  desist  in  the  execution  of  its 
plans  for  promoting  the  desired  result.  It  continued  to  encourage  and  protect 
the  emigration  of  its  citizens  to  California.  It  caused  to  be  made  scientific  and 
popular  explorations  by  land,  such  as  those  of  Fremont,  and  by  sea,  such  as 
those  sucessfully  and  thoroughly  made  by  Wilkes's  exploring  expedition. 


314  EESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

Indeed,  it  is  more  than  suspected  that  the  main  object  of  organizing  Wilkes's 
exploring  expedition  was  a  thorough  hydrographic  survey  of  the  harbor  of  San 
Francisco  and  its  tributaries — a  work  which  was  so  well  accomplished  that  the 
maps  and  soundings  of  the  bays  and  rivers  from  San  Francisco  to  Sacramento, 
which  were  made  on  that  occasion,  are  reliable  to  the  present  time.  What  Fre- 
mont's instructions  were  on  his  last  expedition  to  California  is  a  well-kept  cabi- 
net secret,  which  will  probably  not  be  divulged,  at  least  in  our  time ;  but  it  is 
evident  from  his  course  of  action  that  he  was  directed,  in  case  of  receiving  reli- 
able information  of  the  breaking  out  of  war,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  secure 
possession  of  California.  It  is  also  very  certain  that  the  commanders  of  the 
American  men-of-war  cruising  on  the  coast  of  California  had  explicit  instructions 
not  to  suffer  the  country  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  any  other  power.  And  the 
popular  impression  is  that  the  English  were  about  to  take  possession  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  were  prevented  only  by  the  seizure  of  Monterey  by  Commodore  Sloat 
on  the  7th  of  July,  1846. 

MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  CALIFORNIANS  IN  RELATION    TO  THEIR  ANNEXATION    TO  A 

FOREIGN  POWER. 

Meanwhile  the  natives  of  California,  with  that  instinctive  apprehension  of  the 
coming  storm  which  seems  to  prevail  in  the  political  as  well  as  in  the  natural 
world,  began  to  consult  upon  the  policy  of  preventing  the  anticipated  acts  of 
foreign  governments  by  declaring  their  independence  of  Mexico,  and  placing 
California  under  the  protection  of  some  great  political  power.  In  the  year  1836 
Don  Juan  Bautista  Alvarado  revolted  against  Mexico,  and  by  the  aid  of  sixty 
American  riflemen,  headed  by  Isaac  Graham,  drove  Gutierrez,  the  constitutional 
governor  of  California,  out  of  the  department,  and  was  himself  proclaimed  gov- 
ernor in  his  stead.  Acting  in  conjunction  with  General  Mariano  Gaudalupe 
Vallejo  and  Don  Jose  Castro,  and  aiming  at  annexation  with  the  United  States, 
he  declared  California  to  be  completely  independent  of  Mexico,  and  erected  into 
a  free  and  sovereign  state — el  Estado  libre  y  sober  ana  de  la  Alt  a  California — 
and  raised  a  flag  like  that  of  the  United  States,  but  with  a  single  star.  This  re- 
volt was  finally  abandoned  on  certain  concessions  being  made  by  the  central  gov- 
ernment, including  the  appointment  of  Alvarado  as  constitutional  governor.  In 
1842  President  Santa  Anna  sent  General  Manuel  Micheltorena  to  California  as 
governor  and  commandant  general,  with  150  persons  to  act  as  officials,  and 
an  army  of  300  convicts,  drawn  from  the  prisons  of  Mexico.*  But  he 

0  I  should  not  dare  to  credit  this  act  of  Santa  Anna  if  it  were  not  officially  substantiated 
beyond  any  doubt.  It  was  published  at  the  time,  at  Mexico,  in  El  Observador  Judicial 
y  de  Legislation,  1842,  vol.  i,  p.  372,  and  also  afterwards,  in  the  Coleccion  de  las  Decrctos  y 
Ordenes  de  Interes  Comun,  que  dicto  el  gobierno provisional  en  virtud  de  las  bases  de  Tncubaya, 
Mexico:  Imprenta  de  J.  M.  Lara,  1850,  page  352,  under  date  of  February  22,  A.  D.  1842, 
and  is  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  MINISTERIO   DE  JUSTICIA  E  INSTRUCTION  PUBLICA. 

"  Exmo.  Senor  el  exnio.  Senor  Presidente  Provisional,  en  uso  de  la  Facultad  que  concede 
et  art.  7°  de  las  bases  acordadas  en  Tacubaya  y  juradas  por  los  represeritantes  de  los  departa- 
mentos,  ha  tenido  a  cien  disponer  :  que  de  los  reos  senteuciados  a  presidio  que  existan  en  las 
earceles  de  esta  capital,  se  destinen  trescientos  al  departamento  de  California^  escogiendo  al 
efecto  a  los  que  sengan  algun  oficio  6  industria  util ;  en  el  concepto  de  que  si  al  llegar  &  aquel 
destino  hubieren  guardado  buena  conducta,  a  juicio  del  gobierno  departmental,  se  les  recajar£ 
una  parte  de  su  cond6na,  o  se  les  indultara  del  todo,  segun  los  servicios  que  prestaren,  y 
aun  se  auxiliara  a  sus  familias  para  que  vayan  £  unirse  con  ellos,  dandoles  terrenos  y  los  in- 
strumeritos  que  necesiten  para  colonizar:  (with  the  purpose  of  rebating  a  part  or  the  whole 
of  their  term  of  punishment,  according  to  the  services  they  render;  and  also  their  families 
shall  be  assisted  to  join  them,  and  lands  and  implements  of  cultivation  furnished  them.) 

"Lo  quetengo  el  honor  de  cornunicar  a  V.  E.  para  su  debido  cumplimiento,  y  que  sesirva 
hacer  saber  esta  suprema  disposition  a  los  presidiarios  que  al  indicate  efecto  fueren  escogidos. 

"Exmo.  Senor  Gobernador  del  Departamento  de  Mexico." 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  315 

too,  after  a  stormy  administration,  was  forced  to  retire,  in  the  year  1845,  after 
having  stipulated  with  the  insurgents  by  the  treaty  of  Cahuenga — so  styled 
from  the  rancho  of  that  name  where  it  was  conducted — that  he  and  his  adher- 
ents might  march  away  with  their  side  arms  with  all  the  honors  of  war.  The 
crisis  of  severance  from  the  mother  republic  became  every  day  more  inevitable. 
Dissatisfied  as  the  Californians  were  with  the  exactions  and  oppressions  of  the 
central  government,  and  with  the  importation  from  Mexico  of  a  convict  soldiery, 
who  graduated  from  the  camp  to  become  turbulent  citizens  or  ferocious  bandits, 
the  question  of  secession  from  Mexico  was  freely  discussed  and  its  policy  ap- 
proved. They  differed  only  as  to  what  great  political  power  should  be  invoked 
for  protection  and  annexation.  The  departmental  assembly  of  California,  in  the 
year  1846,  passed  a  law  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  junta,  or  extraordi- 
nary convention,  to  be  styled  "The  general  council  of  the  united  pueblos  of  the 
Californias  :  el  concejo  general  de  Jos  pueblos  unidos  de  California,"  which  was 
to  meet  at  Santa  Barbara  on  June  15,  1846,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
destiny  of  California.  Meanwhile  the  resident  consuls  and  agents  of  the  three 
great  powers  which  were  striving  for  the  possession  of  California— Forbes  for 
Great  Britain,  Guys  for  France,  and  Larkin  for  the  United  States — commenced 
their  movements  and  counter  movements,  each  hoping  to  gain  the  predominat- 
ing influence  in  the  coming  convention.  But  the  result  of  an  informal  meeting 
of  some  of  the  leading  men  of  California,  at  the  house  of  Don  Jose  Castro,  in 
Monterey,  dissipated  all  these  hopes,  and  showed  that  the  convention,  even  if 
held,  must  prove  an  utter  failure.  On  that  occasion  a  native  Californian,  whom 
it  would  be  invidious  to  mention,  as  he  is  now  a  loyal  citizen  of  California,  but 
who  then  represented  the  monarchical  party,  spoke  as  follows  :  * 

"  Excellent  Sirs,  to  what  a  deplorable  condition  is  our  country  reduced ! 
Mexico,  professing  to  be  our  mother  and  our  protectress,  has  given  us  neither 
arms,  nor  money,  nor  the  materials  of  war  for  our  defence.  She  is  not  likely 
to  do  anything  in  our  behalf,  although  she  is  quite  willing  to  afflict  us  with  her 
extortionate  minions,  who  come  hither  in  the  guise  of  soldiers  and  civil  officers 
to  harass  and  oppress  our  people.  We  possess  a  glorious  country,  capable  of 
attaining  a  physical  arid  moral  greatness  corresponding  with  the  grandeur  and 
beauty  which  an  Almighty  hand  has  stamped  upon  the  face  of  our  beloved  Cali- 
fornia. But  although  nature  has  been  prodigal,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  we  are 
not  in  a  position  to  avail  ourselves  of  her  bounty.  Our  population  is  not  large, 
and  it  is  sparsely  scattered  over  valley  and  mountain,  covering  an  immense 
area  of  virgin  soil,  destitute  of  roads,  and  traversed  with  difficulty  ;  hence  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  collect  an  army  of  any  considerable  force.  Our  people  are 
poor,  as  well  as  few,  and  cannot  well  govern  themselves  and  maintain  a  decent 
show  of  sovereign  power.  Although  we  live  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  we  lay  up 
nothing ;  but,  tilling  the  earth  in  an  imperfect  maner,  all  our  time  is  required  to 
procure  subsistence  for  ourselves  and  our  families.  Thus  circumstanced,  we 
find  ourselves  threatened  by  hordes  of  Yankee  emigrants,  who  have  already 
begun  to  flock  into  our  country,  and  whose  progress  we  cannot  arrest.  Already 
have  the  wagons  of  that  perfidious  people  scaled  the  almost  inaccessible  summit 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  crossed  the  entire  continent,  and  penetrated  the  fruitful 
valley  of  the  Sacramento.  What  that  astonishing  people  will  next  undertake, 
I  cannot  say  ;  but  in  whatever  enterprise  they  embark,  they  will  be  sure  to  prove 
successful.  Already  are  these  adventurous  land-voyagers  spreading  themselves 

The  alleged  design  of  converting  California  into  a  convict  colony  was  only  a  flimsy  pre- 
text for  furnishing  Micheltoreua  with  three  hundred  desperate  soldiers  ;  still,  it  is  interesting 
to  know  that  the  intention  of  making  our  State  the  Botany  Bay  of  Mexico  was  once  thus 
officially  announced. 

*  The  speeches  which  follow  were  reduced  to  writing  at  the  time,  by  the  late  Thomas  O. 
Larkin,  then  American  consul  at  Monterey.  The  first  had  already  been  delivered,  in  sub- 
stance, in  the  Departmental  Assembly. 


316  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

far  and  wide  over  a  country  which  seems  suited  to  their  taste.  They  are  cul- 
tivating farms,  establishing  vineyards,  erecting  mills,  sawing  up  lumber,  build- 
ing workshops,  and  doing  a  thousand  other  things  which  seem  natural  to  them, 
but  which  Califomians  neglect  or  despise.  What,  then,  are  we  to  do  1  Shall 
we  remain  supine,  while  these  daring  strangers  are  overrunning  our  fertile  plains, 
and  gradually  outnumbering  and  displacing  us  ?  Shall  these  incursions  go  on 
unchecked,  until  we  shall  become  strangers  in  our  own  land  ?  We  cannot  suc- 
cessfully oppose  them  by  our  own  unaided  power,  and  the  swelling  tide  of 
emigration  renders  the  odds  against  us  more , powerful  every  day.  We  cannot 
stand  alone  against  them,  nor  can  we  creditably  maintain  our  independence 
even  against  them,  nor  can  we  creditably  maintain  our  independence  even  against 
Mexico  ;  but  there  is  something  which  we  can  do,  which  will  elevate  our  country,, 
strengthen  her  at  all  points,  and  yet  enable  us  to  preserve  our  identity  and  re- 
main masters  of  our  own  soil.  Perhaps  what  I  am  about  to  suggest  may  seem 
to  some  faint-hearted  and  dishonorable.  But  to  me  it  does  not  appear  so.  It 
is  the  last  hope  of  a  feeble  people,  struggling  against  a  tyrannical  government, 
which  claims  their  submission  at  home,  and  threatened  by  bands  of  avaricious 
strangers  from  without,  voluntarily  to  connect  themselves  with  a  power  able  and 
willing  to  defend  and  preserve  them,  It  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  weak  to 
demand  support  from  the  strong,  provided  the  demand  be  made  upon  terms 
just  to  both  parties.  I  see  no  dishonor  in  this  last  refuge  of  the  oppressed  and 
powerless,  and  I  boldly  avow  that  such  is  the  step  I  would  now  have  California 
take.  There  are  two  great  powers  in  Europe,  which  seem  destined  to  divide 
between  them  the  unappropriated  countries  of  the  world.  They  have  large 
fleets  and  armies  not  unpracticed  in  the  art  of  war.  Is  it  not  better  to  connect 
ourselves  with  one  of  these  powerful  nations  than  to  struggle  on  without  hope, 
as  we  are  doing  now  ]  Is  it  not  better  that  one  of  them  should  be  invited  to 
send  a  fleet  and  an  army  to  protect  California,  rather  than  we  should  fall  an  easy 
prey  to  the  lawless  adventurers  who  are  overrunning  our  beautiful  country  ?  I 
pronounce  for  annexation  to  France  or  England,  and  the  people  of  California  will 
never  regret  having  taken  my  advice.  They  will  no  longer  be  subjected  to  the 
trouble  and  grievous  expense  of  governing  themselves,  and  their  beef,  and  their 
grain,  which  they  produce  in  such  abundance,  would  find  a  ready  market  among 
the  new  comers.  But  I  hear  some  one  say,  "No  monarchy !"  But  is  not  mon- 
archy better  than  anarchy]  Is  not  existence  in  some  shape  better  than  anni- 
hilation ?  No  monarchy !  And  what  is  there  so  terrible  in  a  monarchy  ?  Have 
we  not  all  lived  under  a  monarchy  far  more  despotic  than  that  of  France  or 
England,  and  were  not  our  people  happy  under  it  ?  Have  not-  the  leading  men 
among  our  agriculturists  been  bred  beneath  the  royal  rule  of  Spain,  and  have 
they  been  happier  since  the  mock  republic  of  Mexico  has  supplied  its  place  ? 
Nay,  does  not  every  man  abhor  the  miserable  abortion  christened  the  republic 
of  Mexico,  and  look  back  with  regret  to  the  golden  days  of  the  Spanish  mon- 
archy ?  Let  us  restore  that  glorious  era.  Then  may  our  people  go  quietly  to 
their  ranches,  and  live  there  as  of  yore,  leading  a  merry  and  thoughtless  life, 
untroubled  by  politics  or  cares  of  state,  sure  of  what  is  their  own,  and  safe 
from  the  incursions  of  the  Yankees,  who  would  soon  be  forced  to  retreat  into 
their  own  country." 

To  these  arguments  General  Mariano  Gr.  Vallejo,-a  native  of  California,  whom 
we  are  proud  to  number  among  the  members  of  this  society,  and  who  has  not 
lost  our  esteem  in  consequence  of  the  assaults  macle  upon  him  by  those  who 
have  succeeded  in  confiscating  so  large  a  portion  of  that  landed  property  of  the 
native  Californians,  whose  possession  was  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  treaty  of 
Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  replied  as  follows  : 

"  I  cannot,  gentlemen,  coincide  in  opinion  with  the  military  and  civil  func- 
tionaries who  have  advocated  the  cession  of  'our  country  to  France  or  England. 
It  is  most  true  that  to  rely  any  longer  upon  Mexico  to  govern  and  defend  us 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  317 

would  be  idle  and  absurd.  To  this  extent  I  fully  agree  with  my  distinguished 
colleagues.  It  is  true  that  we  possess  a  noble  country,  every  way  calculated,  from 
position  and  resources,  to  become  great  and  powerful.  For  that  very  reason  I 
would  not  have  her  a  mere  dependence  upon  a  foreign  monarchy,  naturally  alien, 
or  at  least  indifferent  to  our  interests  and  our  welfare.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
feeble  nations  have  in  former  times  thrown  themselves  upon  the  protection  of  their 
powerful  neighbors.  The  Britons  invoked  the  aid  of  the  warlike  Saxons,  and  fell 
an  easy  prey  to  their  protectors,  who  seized  their  lands  and  treated  them  as  slaves. 
Long  before  that  time,  feeble  and  distracted  provinces  had  appealed  for  aid  to 
the  all-conquering  arms  of  imperial  Rome,  and  they  were  at  the  same  time  pro- 
tected and  subjugated  by  their  grasping  ally.  Even  could  we  tolerate  the  idea 
of  dependence,  ought  we  to  go  to  distant  Europe  for  a  master  ?  What  possi- 
ble sympathy  could  exist  between  us  and  a  nation  separated  from  us  by 
two  vast  oceans  ?  But  waiving  this  insuperable  objection,  how  could  we 
endure  to  come  under  the  dominion  of  a  monarch  ? — for  although  others 
speak  lightly  of  a  form  of  government,  as  a  freeman  I  cannot  do  so.  We 
are  republicans.  Badly  governed  and  badly  situated  as  we  are,  still  we 
are  all,  in  sentiment,  republicans.  So  far  as  we  are  governed  at  all,  we,  at 
least,  profess  to  be  self-governed.  Who,  then,  that  possesses  true  patriotism 
will  consent  to  subject  himself  and  children  to  the  caprices  of  a  foreign  king 
and  his  official  minions  ?  But,  it  is  asked,  if  we  do  not  throw  ourselves  upon 
the  protection  of  France  or  England,  what  shall  we  do  ]  I  do  not  come  here  to 
support  the  existing  order  of  things,  but  I  come  prepared  to  propose  instant  and 
effective  action  to  extricate  our  country  from  her  present  forlorn  condition.  My 
opinion  is  made  up  that  we  must  persevere  in  throwing  off  the  galling  yoke 
of  Mexico  and  proclaim  our  independence  forever.  We  have  endured  her 
official  cormorants  and  her  villanous  soldiery  until  we  can  endure  no  longer. 
All  will  probably  agree  with  me  that  we  ought  at  once  to  rid  ourselves  of  what 
may  remain  of  Mexican  domination.  But  some  profess  to  doubt  our  ability  to 
maintain  our  position.  To  my  mind  there  comes  no  doubt.  Look  at  Texas 
and  see  how  long  she  withstood  the  power  of  united  Mexico.  The  resources  of 
Texas  were  not  to  be  compared  with  ours,  and  she  was  much  nearer  to  her  enemy 
than  we  are.  Our  position  is  so  remote,  either  by  land  or  sea,  that  we  are  in  no 
danger  from  a  Mexican  invasion.  Why,  then,  should  we  hesitate  still  to  assert  our 
independence  ?  We  have  indeed  taken  the  first  step  by  electing  our  own  governor ; 
but  another  remains  to  be  taken.  I  will  mention  it  plainly  and  distinctly.  It  is  an- 
nexation to  the  United  States.  In  contemplating  this  consummation  of  our  destiny 
I  feel  nothing  but  pleasure,  and  I  ask  you  to  share  it.  Discard  old  prejudices,  dis- 
regard old  customs,  and  prepare  for  the  glorious  change  which  awaits  our  coun- 
try. Why  should  we  shrink  from  incorporating  ourselves  with  the  happiest 
and  freest  nation  in  the  world,  destined  soon  to  be  the  most  wealthy  and  power- 
ful ?  Why  should  we  go  abroad  for  protection,  when  this  great  nation  is  our 
adjoining  neighbor  ?  When  we  join  our  fortune  to  hers  we  shall  not  become 
subjects,  but  fellow-citizens,  possessing  all  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  choosing  our  own  federal  and  local  rulers.  We  shall  have  a  stable 
government  and  just  laws.  California  will  grow  strong  and  flourish,  and  her 
people  will  be  prosperous,  happy,  and  free.  Look  not,  therefore,  with  jealousy 
upon  the  hardy  pioneers  who  scale  our  mountains  and  cultivate  our  unoccupied 
plains,  but  rather  welcome  them  as  brothers  who  come  to  share  with  us  a  com' 
mon  destiny." 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  these  remarks  General  Vallejo  and  his  friends  retired 
in  a  body  from  the  meeting,  and  he  immediately  addressed  a  letter  to  the  gov- 
ernor reaffirming  the  views  which  he  had  expressed,  and  declared  that  he  would 
never  assist  in  any  project  for  annexation  to  any  nationality  except  that  of  the 
United  States,  or  hold  any  office  under  any  government  which  proposed  to  sur- 
render California  to  any  European  monarchy ;  and  thereupon  he  and  his  sup- 


318  RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

porters  retired  to  their  homes.  This  movement  on  the  part  of  General  Vallejo 
destroyed  the  prospects  of  the  convention,  so  that,  although  its  members  were 
elected,  it  never  met  for  want  of  a  quorum ;  and  within  a  few  months  thereafter 
California  was  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States,  by  the  taking  of  Mon- 
terey, by  Commodore  Sloat,  on  July  7,  A.  D.  1846. 

ENDEAVORS   OF    RUSSIA  TO  OCCUPY  CALIFORNIA. 

Meanwhile  the  Russians  had  for  some  time  been  quietly  insinuating  them- 
selves upon  the  northern  coast  of  California,  with  a  view  to  its  permanent  occu- 
pation. In  the  year  1812  they  established  themselves  at  the  port  of  Bodega, 
having  previously  obtained  permission  to  do  so  from  the  authorities  of  Spain,  for 
the  alleged  purpose  of  maintaining  fisheries  and  hunting  for  furs.  But  already, 
as  early  as  the  year  1815,  they  had  established  large  ranches  in  the  interior, 
had  purchased  cattle  of  the  Spanish  inhabitants,  and  had  devoted  themselves  to 
the  rearing  of  herds  and  the  production  of  wheat.  During  the  revolutionary 
troubles  in  Mexico,  the  Russians  held  themselves  to  have  become  the  actual 
owners  of  the  territory  which  they  occupied.  About  forty  miles  from  Bodega, 
beyond  the  river  San  Sebastian,  they  constructed  a  fort,  which  they  called 
Slawianski,  but  which  the  Mexicans  designated  as  the  Fort  of  Ross.  Over  this 
floated  the  Russian  flag,  and  a  military  governor  was  in  command,  appointed  by 
the  Czar  of  Russia.  So  carefully  was  this  military  colony  fostered  by  its  own 
government,  that  it  possessed  one-sixth  of  the  white  population  of  California  in 
the  year  1842.  But,  on  the  final  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States, 
the  military  colony  was  withdrawn,  and  most  if  not  all  the  Russian  population 
retired  at  or  about  the  same  time. 

THESE  VARIOUS  GOVERNMENTS  HAD  NO  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  MINERAL  WEALTH 

OF    CALIFORNIA. 

When  we  consider  what  the  causes  were  which  have  so  rapidly  developed 
California  to  her  present  position,  it  seems  surprising  to  us  that  the  existence  of 
precious  metals  within  her  limits  was  not  only  not  suspected,  but  was  even  most 
authoritatively  denied.  The  acquisition  of  California  was  considered  desirable 
by  all  these  nations,  because  it  was  known  that  her  conditions  of  climate  and 
soil  were  such,  that  her  agricultural  sources  and  productions  must  be  almost 
incalculable ;  that  she  must  become  the  seat  of  an  immense  population  of  a 
highly  civilized  and  prosperous  people,  and  there  form  the  nucleus  of  an  empire  of 
political  and  commercial  power  which  must  exert  a  controlling  influence  over  all  the 
coasts  of  the  Pacific  ocean.  The  United  States,  in  particular,  found  themselves 
almost  in  contiguity  with  the  future  seat  of  so  much  prosperity,  wealth,  and 
power,  and  naturally  desired  that  it  should  become  their  own.  But  although 
rumors  of  the  existence  of  gold  in  California  had  occasionally  been  heard,  still 
they  had  never  been  verified,  or  traced  to  any  reliable  source ;  and  they  were 
regarded  as  we  now  regard  the  fabulous  stories  of  the  golden  sands  of  Gold 
lake,  or  those  of  "  Silver  Planches,"  which  are  said  to  exist  in  the  inaccessible 
deserts  of  Arizona.  It  seems  strange  to  us,  that,  when  the  geological  character 
of  this  country  was  so  well  known  and  so  minutely  described,  the  existence  of 
the  precious  metals  in  any  large  quantity  should  have  been  so  explicitly  denied. 
De  Mofras  uses  the  following  language  : 

"  There  are  no  minerals  which  can  be  exported  from  California.  The  mines 
of  silver  and  of  lead  which  are  situated  near  Monterey  are  known  only  by  the 
result  of  some  very  simple  assays.  Some  deposits  of  marble,  of  copper  and  iron, 
some  traces  of  mineral  coal  which  are  found  near  Santa  Cruz,  some  mines  of 
ochre,  sulphur,  asphaltum,  kaolin,  and  of  salt,  have  not  been  examined  with 
sufficient  care.  The  only  mine  at  present  operated  in  this  country  is  a  vein  of 
virgin  gold  near  the  mission  of  San  Fernando,  which  yields  about  an  ounce  a 
day  of  pure  gold,  and  is  worked  by  a  Frenchman  named  Baric. 


WEST   OF   THE   EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  319 

"The  geological  constitution  of  the  soil  of  California  is  very  simple.  The 
base  of  the  Rocky  mountains  is  formed  of  granites  of  various  colors,  sometimes 
whitish  with  spots  of  black,  sometimes  gray  or  red  ;  above  are  stratifications  of 
gneiss,  hornblende,  quartz  and  talcose  slate,  similar  to  those  which  in  Mexico 
enclose  veins  of  gold,  micaceous  schist,  and  talcose  schist." 

And  yet,  with  all  this  explicit  description,  which  gave  rise  to  the  recorded 
suggestion  that  this  geological  formation  was  the  same  as  that  which  in  Mex- 
ico contained  veins  of  gold,vit  never  occurred  to  anyone  of  the  statesmen  or  ex- 
plorers who  interested  themselves  in  the  acquisition  of  California  that  mines  of 
the  precious  metals  existed  within  her  limits.* 

OUR  GRATITUDE  TO  THE  GIVER  OF  THIS  GIFT. 

We  have  thus  shown  that  our  position  in  California  is  not  an  accidental  one, 
but  was  the  result  of  a  long  train  of  causes  in  which  human  agencies  were  ac- 
tively at  work.  We  should  do  injustice  to  ourselves,  on  this  occasion,  if  we  did 
not  give  utterance  to  higher  sentiments  than  those  of  admiration  for  the  patriot- 
ism of  our  fathers  and  the  skill  of  our  statesmen.  We  do  not  entertain  those 
notions  of  modern  atheism,  thinly  disguised  under  the  epithet  of  pantheism, 
which  limit  the  operative  creation  of  God  to  the  diffusion  of  a  thin,  gaseous  sub- 
stance throughout  infinite  space,  upon  which  he  set  the  impress  of  his  law  and 
then  went  to  sleep,  leaving  the  existing  universe  to  be  evolved  from  a  succession 
of  vortices.  We  do  not  believe  that  the  whole  animal  and  vegetable  creations 
have  been  evolved  from  bubbles  of  albumen,  nor  even  that  pantheistical  philos- 
ophers are  only  fully  developed  baboons,  however  probable  this  latter  might 
seem.  This  theory  was  first  popularly  presented  to  the  world  in  a  most  shal- 
low and  unscientific  work  called  The  Vestiges  of  Creation,  whose  author  never 
dared  to  expose  himself  to  general  ridicule  by  revealing  his  name,  because,  just 
after  the  publication  of  his  book,  Lord  Rosse  turned  his  tremendous  telescope 
upon  the  gaseous  pantheistic  nebulae,  and  instantly  resolved  them  into  fixed, 
starry  points.  We  believe  as  geology  teaches  us,  that  God  has  often,  and  at 
remotely  successive  periods,  interposed  in  the  formation  of  the  physical  world,  fit- 
ting it  for  the  creation  and  habitation  of  man.  We  believe  that  He  still  acts  in 
history,  preparing  great  events,  rewarding  nations  and  men  for  goodness,  and 
punishing  them  for  crime.  We  believe  that  His  adoration  is  not  superstitious, 
nor  prayer  an  unphilosophical  act.  "  If  the  Lord  had  not  been  on  our  side — 
yea,  if  the  Lord  had  not  been  on  our  side,"  we  should  not  now  possess  this 
beautiful  and  glorious  California,  nor  hope  to  transmit  it  as  an  inheritance  to  our 
descendants.  To  Him,  therefore,  we  pour  out  our  collected  tribute  of  gratitude, 
and  invoke  His  protection  for  ourselves  and  our  children. 

OUR    DUTY    TO    THE    FUTURE. 

Standing,  as  we  do,  between  the  mighty  past  and  the  mysterious  future, 
recognizing  our  gratitude  to  our  fathers  and  our  duty  to  our  children,  let 
us  this  day  make  a  public  confession  and  a  solemn  covenant.  Let  us  con- 

*  In  closing  the  historical  narrative,  it  may  be  assumed  as  a  fact  that  the  inevitable  rup- 
ture between  Mexico  and  the  United  States  was  hastened  by  the  governments  of  both  coun- 
tries with  the  expectation  that  the  existence  of  war  would  defeat  the  plans  of  the  monarchical 
party  in  Mexico.  It  is  well  known  that  the  friends  of  Santa  Anna,  who  was  then  in  exile, 
applied  to  the  American  government  to  pass  htm  through  its  blockade  of  Vera  Cruz  on  his 
proposed  return  to  Mexico,  upon  the  frank  representation  that  although  he  was  the  ablest 
general  the  Mexicans  could  have,  and  would  undoubtedly  command  their  armies  during  the 
war,  yet  his  presence  and  influence  in  the  country  would  prevent  the  establishment  of  a 
foreign  monarchy  there ;  and  that  the  President  of  the  United  States,  appreciating  these  con- 
eiderations,  permitted  Santa  Anna  to  land  at  Vera  Cruz  perfectly  free  to  pursue  his  own 
course  of  action.  There  are  gentlemen  of  the  highest  respectability  residing  in  California 
who  came  here  upon  the  personal  assurance  of  President  Polk,  in  1846,  that  the  war  should 
not  be  concluded  until  Upper  California  was  secured  by  treaty  to  the  United  States, 


320  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

fess  that  those  of  us  who  have  come  into  this  country  since  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California  was  announced  to  the  world,  came  here  rather  with 
the  spirit  of  adventure  than  with  the  intention  of  remaining  here  as  per- 
manent residents ;  that  we  came  here  to  gather  our  share  of  the  mineral 
treasures  of  the  land,  and  then  to  return  to  the  homes  of  our  youth,  there  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  our  lives ;  that,  at  first,  we  took  no  thought  to  found 
here  the  institutions  of  a  higher  civilization,  nor  even  to  cultivate  social  rela- 
tions ;  and  that,  in  this  solitary  isolation  to  which  we  condemned  ourselves  for  the 
Bake  of  gain,  it  was  true,  in  a  certain  sense,  of  us,  as  individuals,  that  "  our 
hands  were  against  every  one,  and  every  one's  hand  against  us."  Let  us  con- 
fess that  this  Ishmaelitish  tradition  has  still  a  certain  influence  upon  us,  and 
that  we  do  not  devote  ourselves  as  fully  as  we  ought  to  the  preparation  for  th« 
great  future  of  California  ;  and  let  us  resolve  that  this  day  shall  form  a  new  era 
in  our  organized  efforts.  The  faculties  of  man  are  threefold,  intellectual,  moral, 
and  aesthetic ;  he  has  reasoning  powers  which  can  be  cultivated  ;  a  moral  and 
religious  sense  which  can  be  elevated  ;  and  a  perception  of  the  beautiful  in 
nature  and  art  which  can  be  developed  into  a  source  of  happiness  and  refinement. 
As  of  men,  so  of  nations,  for  nations  are  but  aggregates  of  men.  The  man  who  is 
wanting  in  cultivation  of  any  of  these  faculties  is  but  an  imperfect  man;  a 
nation  which  is  thus  deficient  can  never  act  a  perfect  part  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  were  powerful  peoples,  highly  developed  in 
intellect  and  aesthetics,  but  in  religion  and  morals  they  possessed  only  the  gross 
and  sensual  superstitions  of  paganism.  The  Puritans  of  New  England  were 
highly  cultivated  intellectually  and  morally,  but  not  aesthetically;  they  were  a 
strong,  stern,  and  unsocial  race.  The  politicians  of  the  French  revolution  were 
men  of  powerful  intellects,  and  of  high  culture  in  literature  and  art,  but  they 
were  wanting  in  religious  sentiment,  and  disbelievers  in  the  ever-present  working 
of  an  intelligent  and  personal  Deity ;  so  that  even  Robespierre,  contemplating 
the  threatened  dissolution  of  his  political  system,  cried  out  in  his  agony :  "  If  there 
is  no  God,  then  we  must  create  one!"  Deficiency  in  aesthetic  culture  is  com- 
monly the  want  of  new  countries.  The  want  of  culture  has  been  ascribed  to  us  in 
California ;  by  this  is  meant  the  want  of  intimate  and  refined  social  culture,  of 
the  perception  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  and  in  art — of  that  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  that  ideal  of  human  perfection,  which  the  painter  strives  to  perpetuate  on 
his  canvas,  the  statuary  to  embody  in  marble,  the  poeb  to  crystallize  in  his 
verse,  and  the  musician  to  bring  up  from  the  profoundest  depths  of  the  human 
soul.  The  charge  brought  against  us  is  in  a  -large  measure  true,  as  it  is  always 
true  of  new  populations  ;  but  we  have  advanced  so  rapidly  to  a  high  degree  of 
prosperity  that  it  ought  to  be  true  no  longer,  and  we  ought  ourselves  to  remove 
this  great  reproach.  Let  us  resolve,  then,  that  we  will  do  all  in  our  power  to 
develop  aesthetic  culture  in  California ;  that  we  will  not  only  devote ,our  aid  to 
the  foundation  of  churches,  colleges,  schools,  and  the  kindred  institutions  of 
morals,  science,  and  humanity,  but  also  to  the  cultivation  of  arts,  of  the  percep- 
tion of  the  beautiful,  to  the  advancement  of  painting  and  statuary.  So  shall 
we  do  our  duty  to  the  future  ;  so  shall  come  after  us  generations  of  Californians 
against  whom  no  such  reproach  can  be  brought — a  perfect  race,  equally  devel- 
oped in  their  threefold  faculties,  by  intellectual,  moral,  and  aesthetic  culture. 

OUR     CELEBRATION,    TEN    YEARS     HEN£E,    OF    THE    HUNDREDTH    BIRTHDAY   OF 

OUR   CITY. 

San  Francisco  was  founded  by  a  colony  of  soldiers  and  settlers  who  came 
up  for  that  purpose  from  Monterey,  overland  and  by  sea,  in  1776,  and  imme- 
diately set  about  constructing  a  chapel  at  the  presidio,  after  which  the  following 
proceeding  took  place,  as  recorded  by  Father  Palou,  one  of  the  missionary 
priests  who  belonged  to  the  expedition : 


WEST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  321 

"  We  took  formal  possession  of  the  presidio  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  Septem- 
ber, the  anniversary  of  the  impression  of  the  wounds  of  our  Father  San  Francisco, 
the  patron  of  the  presidio  and  mission.  I  said  the  first  mass,  and  after  blessing 
the  site,  (despues  del  bcndito,}  tha  elevation  and  adoration  of  the  holy  cross,  and 
the  conclusion  of  the  service  with  the  Te  Deum,  the  officers  took  formal  pos- 
session in  the  name  of  our  sovereign,  with  many  discharges  of  cannon,  both  on 
Bea  and  land,  and  the  musketry  of  the  soldiers." 

The  seventeenth  of  September,  A.  D.  1776,  must  therefore  be  considered  the 
date  of  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco. 

Ten  years  from  now  San  Francisco  will  have  completed  the  hundredth  year 
of  her  existence.  In  ten  years  most  of  us,  under  the  ordinary  providence  of 
God,  will  be  still  living.  Let  us  then,  on  the  hundredth  birthday  of  our  be- 
loved city,  go  up  and  celebrate  it  on  the  plain  of  the  presidio,  where  she  was 
born.  Let  us  at  that  time  renew  the  solemn  exercises  by  which  the  soil  was 
consecrated  to  civilization  :  the  blessing  of  holy  mother  church  will  not  hurt  the 
most  zealous  Protestant  among  us.  Let  us  rear  mast -high  the  old  flag  of  Spain, 
with  full  military  honors,  to  be  replaced  with  equal  honor  by  that  of  Mexico, 
which  in  its  turn  shall  give  place,  with  "  great  discharge  of  musketry  and  of 
cannon,"  to  our  own  national  emjblem  of  unity  and  strength  1 

CONCLUSION. 

*It  is  the  singularly  good  fortune  of  the  members  of  our  society  that  they  have 
an  assured  position  in  the  history  of  California,  and  one  which  can  never  be 
taken  away  from  them.     Whatever  the  future  may  have  in  store  for  us  as  indi- 
viduals, the  Corporate  Society  of  California  Pioneers  has  had  an  existence  whose 
records  must  always  remain  in  the  literature  and  history  of  California.     Our 
banner  is  here,  on  which  our  names  are  inscribed,  and  that  banner  will  always 
float  at  the  head  of  the  "innumerable  caravan"  of  the  countless  generations  who 
are  to  succeed  us — of  that  column  which,  like  the  Macedonian  phalanx,  widen- 
ing as  it  deepens,  shall  draw  its  vast  recruits  as  well  from  the  tropical  regions  of 
the  equator  as  from  the  confines  of  the  frozen  ocean.     Behold  the  thin  mist  curl- 
ing up  from  the  ripple  where  the  sunbeam  kisses  the  western  sea!     It  mounts 
to  Heaven,  and  on  its  slight  curtain   Aurora  paints  the  glories  of  ,the  rising 
sun ;  condenses  itself  into  the  fleecy  whiteness  which  decorates  the  sky  of 
June;    piles   up   the   mighty   thunder-cloud,    with   blackened  .base   and   Al- 
pine  peaks    of    dazzling    brightness;    and,    at    the    signal   of    the   far-flash- 
ing red  artillery"  of  Heaven,  and  with  reverberating   crash,  dissolves  itself 
in  gentle  rain  ;  descends  with  refreshing  coolness  on  the  thirsty  land,  rushes 
in  torrents  of  sheety  foam  adown  the  mountain  side ;  swells  the  vast  river  to  its 
grassy  brink,  and  then  returns  its  tributary  volume  to  the  mother  ocean.  So  count- 
less as  the  innumerable  drops  of  rain  shall  be  the  people  that  come  after  us.     So 
shall  they  rise  up  from  the  mists  of  the  future,  filling  Heaven  and  earth  and  sea 
with  the  beauty,  greatness,  and  goodness  of  their  acts,  and  then  return,  like  us, 
to  the  great  source  from  which  they  came.     And  among  them,  what  multitudes 
of  unborn  painters,  sculptors,  poets,  merchant-princes,  generals  and  statesmen ! 
Unknown  they  are  to  us,  but  sure  to  be — most  of  them  still  sleeping  in  the  vast 
caverns  where  repose  the  unborn  generations  of  mankind.     But  from  the  depths 
of  the  mists  which  conceal  them,  we  already  hear  the  reverberations  of  their 
heavy  tread.      The    parting    haze  already  reveals    the  outline  of  the    giant 
forms  of  their  leaders,  but,  alas,  their  faces  are  veiled  !     These  are  the  men  for 
whose  coming  we  are  to  prepare  this  California  of  ours ;  these  are  the  men  who 
are  to  erect  on  the  Pacific  coast  the  imperial  throne  of  the  great  American  em- 
pire! 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29—21 


LETTER 


FROM  THE 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY, 


ENCLOSING 


Report  of  James  W.  Taylor,  special  commissioner  Jor  the  collection  of  statistics 
upon  gold  and  silver  mining  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 


FEBRUARY  15,  1867.— Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  and  ordered  to  be 

printed. 


TKEASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

Washington,  February  13,  1867. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  a  preliminary  report  upon  gold  and  silver 
mines  and  mining  in  the  States  and  Territories  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  by 
Mr.  James  W-.  Taylor,  who  has  been  appointed  a  special  commissioner  for  the 
collection  of  statistical  information  on  that  subject  by  this  department. 

Congress  having  made  provision  by  the  civil  appropriation  act  of  July  28, 
1866,  for  the  collection,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  of  "  reliable  statistical 
information  concerning  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  western  States  and  Ter- 
ritories," I  referred  the  inquiry  in  relation  to  districts  west  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains to  Mr.  J.  Ross  Browne,  whose  report  was  transmitted  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  on  the  8th  of  January.  There  remained  for  consideration  ex- 
tensive districts  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Montana,  Dakota,  and  Minnesota, 
which  may  be  properly  designated  as  "  western"  States  and  Territories ;  and 
the  mineral  statistics  of  those  regions,* especially  in  regard  to  the  production  of 
gold  and  silver,  were  referred  to  Mr.  Taylor. 

The  report  herewith  forwarded  also  contains  some  information  upon  the  sit- 
uation and  prospects  of  gold  mining  along  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Alleghany 
range,  with  some  generaUstatements  of  the  production  of  the  precious  metals  in 
Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  other  parts  of  British  America — a  compilation  made 
by  the  direction  of  this  department  with  a  view  to  exhibit  all  the  gold-bearing 
districts  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States  or  closely  related  to  our 
northern  frontier.  The  kindred  topics  of  the  present  and  future  production  of 
gold  and  silver  in  other  quarters  of  the  world,  and  the  effect  of  our  own  treasure 
supply  upon  the  internal  commerce  and  communications  of  the  west,  are  briefly 
noticed  in  the  report  herewith  enclosed. 

I  repeat  the  hope  expressed  on  a  former  occasion,  that  the  reports  above  re- 
ferred to  may  prove  valuable  contributions  to  the  public  information  in  reference 
to  the  great  mineral  resources  of  the  United  States. 
I  am,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  McCULLOCH, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hon.  SCHUYLRR  COLFAX, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 


324      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

SAINT  PAUL,  February  8,  1867. 

SIR:  In  pursuance  of  your  letter  of  instructions  of  September  12,  1866,  I 
present  some  general  information  in  regard  to  the  production  of  gold  and  silver 
in  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Montana,  in  a  district  of  Min- 
nesota northwest  of  Lake  Superior,  of  which  the  lake  and  river  Vermillion  in- 
dicate the  locality,  and  upon  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Alleghany  range  in  the 
States  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  Maryland, 
with  some  notice  of  recent  discoveries  of  gold  in  New  Hampshire,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  Canada. 

In  a  second  instalment  of  this  communication  a  general  review  of  the  pro- 
duction of  gold  and  silver  in  other  quarters  of  the  world  is  submitted,  with  the 
purpose  of  indicating  relatively  the  commercial  and  social  importance  of  the 
treasure  product  of  the  United  States. 

A  third  division  presents  a  summary  of  the  domestic  commerce  from  the  Mis- 
souri river  westward  to  the  interior  or  mining  districts  of  the  United  States, 
having  reference  prominently  to  the  situation  and  prospects  of  railway  commu- 
nication with  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  brief  period  and  the  limited  means  of  information  which  have  been  avail- 
able since  the  date  of  your  commission  will  confine  the  present  communication 
to  the  form  of  a  preliminary  report,  postponing  a  fuller  consideration  of  the  topics 
enumerated  to  a  subsequent  occasion. 

THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

This  designation  no  longer  includes  the  whole  breadth  of  the  Andean  chain  in 
the  United  States.  It  refers  only  to  the  formation  known  in  Mexico  as  the 
Sierra  Madre,  or  Mother  mountain,  from  which  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  California, 
or  the  western  wall  of  the  mountain  mass,  diverges  in  northern  Mexico,  while 
the  intervening  plateau  of  table  lauds  is  now  recognized  as  a  distinct  and  char- 
acteristic division  of  the  continent.  The  Rocky  mountains,  or  the  cordillera  of 
the  Sierra  Madre,  traverses  the  territory  of  the  United  States  in  a  north-north- 
west direction,  from  the  29th  to  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude.  The  average 
elevation  of  its  crest  is  12,000  feet  above  the  sea,  lifting,  for  a  breadth  of  300 
miles,  above  the  altitude  of  its  eastern  and  western  piedmonts,  which,  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Denver  and  Great  Salt  Lake,  is  fully  6,000  feet.  Those  valleys,  slopes, 
and  gorges,  which  supply  the  sources  of  the  Missouri,  Yellowstone,  Platte, 
Arkansas,  and  Rio  Grande  rivers,  are  the  prominent  features  of  the  Territories 
of  Montana,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico,  and  will  be  the  first  topics  of  consid- 
eration in  relation  to  gold  and  silver  mining  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

NEW  MEXICO. 

If  we  compare  a  map  of  this  Territory  with  any  similar  publication  of  the 
last  century,  even  as  early  as  a  chart  in  Moll's  atlas  of  1720,  the  vicinity  of 
Santa  Fe  is  represented  as  even  more  populous  than  at  present.  The  Spaniards 
thoroughly  explored  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  their  mining  settlements 
were  very  numerous  in  the  mountains  of  New  Mexico.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  the  Indians,  whose  labor  had  made  the.mines  of  g^ldv  silver,  and  copper 
available  to  their  Spanish  conquerors,  were  at  length  driven  into  insurrection, 
which  was  so  far*successful  as  completely  to  interrupt  all  systematic  mining. 
This  was  about  1680,  and  at  no  subsequent  period  have  the  conditions  of  society 
and  industry  been  favorable  to  the  resumption  of  mining  enterprises.  At  this 
time  Indian  hostilities  prevent  permanent  labor,  and  almost  exploration,  in  the 
'remote  districts  of  New  Mexico. 

Twenty  years  ago,  when  Colonel  Doniphan  led  a  column  of  American  troops 
to  Santa  Fe  and  Chihuahua,  Dr.  A.  Wizlizenus,  who  accompanied  the  expedi- 
tion as  surgeon  and  for  the  sake  of  scientific  investigation,  reported  that  gold 


GOLD*  MINES    EAST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  325 

wns?  found  to  a  large  extent  in  all  the  mountains  near  Sante  F£,  south  to  a  dis- 
tance of  about  one  hundred  miles,  or  as  far  as  Gran  Quivira,  and  north  for  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  to  the  river  Sangre  de  Cristo.  Throughout  this 
whole  region  gold-dust  was  then  abundantly  found  by  the  poorer  classes  of 
Mexicans,  who  occupied  themselves  with  the  washing  of  this  metal  in  the  moun- 
tain streams,  while  at  the  Placer  mountain,  about  thirty  miles  from  Santa  Fe, 
gold-bearing  quartz  was  worked.  These  statements  in  regard  to  gold  are  con- 
firmed by  the  second  annual  message  of  acting  Governor  Arny,  delivered  in 
December,  1866,  to  the  legislature  of  New  Mexico,  who  also  reports  the  discov- 
ery of  thirty  lodes  of  gold-bearing  quartz  at  Pinos  Altos,  paying  from  $40  to 
$200  per  ton;  of  quartz  veins  at  San  Jose,  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  intersecting 
each  other  in  all  directions  for  a  mile  in  width  and  three  miles  in  length;  of  a 
similar  formation  near  Fort  Davis,  Texas ;  and  of  extensive  placer  mines  on  the 
San  Francisco  and  Mimbres  rivers.- 

Governor  Arny  gives  prominence  to  these  gold  discoveries,  but  adds  that  sil- 
ver is  the  prominent  and  most  abundant  mineral  of  the  Territory.  Lodes  of 
silver,  with  its  many  combinations,  are  very  numerous.  He  thinks  it  will  be 
the  most  profitable  branch  of  mining  in  that  Rocky  mountain  region,  and  enu- 
merates as  prominently  argentiferous  the  districts  of  the  Placer  mountains  near 
Santa  Fe,  the  Organ  mountains  near  the  Mesilla  valley,  and  the  Sierra  Madre 
near  Pinos.  The  first  and  last  of  these  localities  are,  as  we  have  seen,  gold-pro- 
ducing also.  In  the  Organ  mountains  over  fifty  silver  mines  have  been  discov- 
ered, the  ore  being  generally  argentiferous  galena.  The  district  near  Mesilla 
valley  in  the'Organ  mountains  has  a  mean  altitude  of  4,400  feet,  and  is  intersected 
with  ravines,  affording  favorable  opportunities  for  horizontal  drifts  in  opening  the 
veins.  There  is  a  belt  or  series  of  veins  containing  six  principal  veins  and  many 
smaller  ones,  the  six  larger  veins  varying  from  two  to  fifteen  feet  in  width.  On 
the  largest  of  these  veins  is  the  celebrated  "  Stephenson"  mine.  This  belt  of 
veins  crosses  the  Organ  mountains  at  or  near  the  San  Augustine  pass,  and  both 
sides  of  the  chain  of  mountains  present  similar  features  and  equal  richness. 
The  country  bordering  on  the  north  portion  of  Chihuahua  is  a  rich  silver  dis- 
trict. Immediately  adjoining  the  new  Mexican  boundary  are* the  mines  of  "  Cor- 
ralitos,''  the  most  successful  silver  mines  in  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  having 
been  mined  for  forty  years  in  a  region  most  exposed  to  Indian  hostility.  Near 
the  old  town  of  El  Paso,  tradition  places  the  locality  of  one  of  the  richest  silver 
mines  known  to  the  Spaniards,  but  its  site  was  lost  during  the  insurrection  of 
1680. 

Dr.  Wizlizenus,  writing  in  1847,  thus  proceeds  with  his  enumeration  of  the 
mineral  resources  of  New  Mexico  :  "In  Spanish  times,  several  rich  silver  mines 
were  worked  at  Avo,  at  Cerillos,  and  in  the  Nambe  mountains,  but  none  at  pres- 
ent. Copper  is  found  in  abundance  throughout  the  country,  but  principally  at 
Los  Tijeras,  Jemas,  Abiquin,  Guadelupita  de  Mora,  &c.;  iron,  though  also 
abundantly  found,  is  entirely  overlooked.  Coal  has  been  discovered  in  differ- 
ent localities,  as  in  the  Raton  mountains,  near  the  village  of  Jemez,  southwest 
of  Santa  Fe,  and  near,  but  south  of,  Placer  mountain.  Gypsum,  both  common 
and  selenite,  is  found  in  large  quantities,  extensive  layers  of  it  existing  in  the 
mountains  near  Algodones,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
celebrated  Salinas.  It  is  used  as  common  lime  for  whitewashing,  and  the  crys- 
talline, or  selenite,  instead  of  window-glass.  About  one  hundred  miles  south- 
southeast  of  Santa  Fe,  on  the  high  table-land  between  the  Rio  Grande  and  Pe- 
cos,  are  some  extensive  salt  lakes,  or  salinas,  from  which  all  the  salt  (muriate  of 
soda)  used  in  New  Mexico  is  procured." 

Governor  Arny,  in  his  late  message,  observes  of  the  production  of  copper, 
that,  before  the  late  civil  war,  two  copper  mines  were  extensively  worked— the 
Santa  Rita  and  the  Hanover — turning  out  about  twelve  tons  of  copper  per  week, 
and  employing  jointly  about  five  hundred  hands.  Other  copper  mines  had  been 


326      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

opened,  and  were  about  to  commence  operations.  A  copper  mine  has  lately 
been  discovered  a  short  distance  from  Fort  Union,  the  specimens  indicating  a 
rich  deposit.  The  locality  of  this  discovery  will  render  it  very  valuable,  as  it  is 
convenient  for  the  return  wagons  from  Santa  Fe  and  Fort  Union  to  the  Mis- 
souri river.  * 

The  indispensable  conditions  to  the  development  of  the  mines  of  New  Mexico 
are,  first,  Indian  pacification  ;  second,  railway  communication  with  New  Orleans, 
Vicksburg,  Memphis,  and  St.  Louis  ;  third,  a  geological  reconnoissance. 

Some  additional  statements,  on  the  authority  of  Doctor  Wizlizenus,  in  regard 
to  the  mineral  production  of  the  adjoining  State  of  Chihuahua,  are  valuable  as 
indicating  what  may  be  reasonably  anticipated  in  New  Mexico.  Referring  to 
the  rich  silver  mines  of  Chihuahua,  he  remarks  that  they  are  found  principally 
in  the  western  part  of  the  State  throughout  the  length  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  and 
in  a  mean  breadth  of  thirty  leagues.  The  ores  occur  generally  as  sulphurets, 
with  iron  or  lead,  sometimes  as  native  silver  and  muriate  of  silver,  and  are  found 
either  entirely  in  porphyritic  rocks,  or  in  stratified  rocks,  (limestone,)  passing  at 
greater  depth  into  igneous  rocks.  They  are  worked  either  by  amalgamation  or 
by  fire  in  common  furnaces.  Ifor  the  latter  process  they  need  generally  an  ad- 
dition of  greta,  (litharge  or  oxyd  of  lead,)  which  forms,  therefore,  a  valuable 
article  of  trade. 

The  celebrated  mine  of  Santa  Eulalia,  near  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  produced 
in  seventy-two  years,  from  1717  to  1789,  $52,800,000.  The  abundance  of  lead 
found  in  Santa  Eulalia  makes  the  smelting  of  the  ore  very  convenient.  These 
mines  are  not  exhausted ;  but  from  intrusion  of  water,  want  of  capital,  and  the 
attraction  of  new  mines,  they  are  but  little  worked.  Doctor  Wizlizenus  describes 
five  other  districts  where  silver  ores  have  been  found  far  superior  in  richness 
and  extent  to  the  mines  of  Central  Mexico,  but  in  which  little  has  been  accom- 
plished on  account  of  the  invasions  of  hostile  Indians  ;  and  he  mentions  gold  and 
copper  mines  as  holding  a  similar  relation  to  the  lodes  of  silver,  as  prevails  in 
New  Mexico.  The  annual  production  of  silver  and  gold  in  1 846  was  estimated 

at  about  $1,031,251. 

• 

COLORADO. 

The  summits  and  valleys  of  Colorado  are  the  sources  of  the  rivers  Platte  and 
Arkansas,  which  are  affluents  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  the  Rio  Grande,  directly 
tributary  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  of  the  Colorado,. which  falls  into  the  Pacific 
gulf  of  that  name.  No  similar  area  of  the  Rocky  mountains  is  more  imposing 
in  scenery  or  physical  relations  than  Colorado.  Its  mineral  development  is  fully 
commensurate. 

The  traveller  by  the  route  of  the  Union  Pacific  railway,  in  approaching  the 
Rocky  mountains,  will  first  traverse  a  formation  of  coal  and  iron.  For  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  from  the  Arkansas  to  the  Cache  le  Poudre,  bituminous 
coal,  or  a  superior  quality  of  lignite,  has  been  discovered,  at  many  points  accom- 
panied by  iron  ore*  Next  in  situation  westward — quite  within  the  mountains,  but 
much  below  their  snow-covered  summits — is  a  mineral  range  from  five  to  fifteen 
miles  wide,  and  extending  from  Long's  Peak  two  hundred  miles  southwardly  in 
Colorado,  within  which  most  of  the  discoveries  of  gold,  especially  of  auriferous 
quartz,  have  occurred.  Crossing  the  snowy  range,  on  the  western  slope,  ex- 
tensive silver  mines  have  been  discovered.  Governor  Evans,  of  Colorado,  in 
November,  1866,  remarked  at  a  public  meeting  in  Chicago:  " I  have  just  re- 
turned from  visiting  a  district  about  one  hundred  miles  by  ten  or  fifteen  in  ex- 
tent, lying  across  the  main  mountain  range  west  of  Denver  City,  which  is 
pervaded  throughout  by  extensive  and  rich  veins  of  silver;  some  are  of  pure 
silver  ores,  but  the  majority  of  them  are  argentiferous  galena  ores,  varying  in 
richness,  many  of  them  yielding  in  the  smelting  furnace  as  high  as  six  hundred 


GOLD  'MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.         327 

dollars  of*  silver  to  the  ton  of  ore."  Salinas,  or  extensive  deposits  of  salt,  are 
accessible,  as  in  New  Mexico ;  and  even  petroleum  is  found  near  the  eastern 
base  of  the  mountains.  The  forests  supply  timber  even  for  exportation  to 
Kansas,  and  the  mountain  streams  are  generally  available  for  the  uses .  of  ma- 
chinery and.  irrigation. 

The  area  of  Colorado  is  67,723,520  acres,  and  the  most  sanguine  view  of  its 
future  agriculture  is  comprised  in  a  statement  by  Surveyor  General  Pierce,  in 
1866,  that  "there  are  about  4,000,000  acres  of  agricultural  land  susceptible  of 
irrigation,  which  will  make  productive  farms."  250,000  acres  were  entered  under 
the  homestead  and  pre-empton  acts  in  1866,  and  141,000  acres  in  1865.  A  much 
larger  area  is  suitable  for  the  sustenance  of  domestic  animals.  "The  whole  of 
the  plains,"  according  to  the  testimony  of  Governor  Evans,  "  and  the  parks  in 
the  mountains  of  Colorado,  are  the  finest  of  pastoral  lands.  Stock  fattens  and 
thrives  on  them  the  year  round,  large  herds  and  flocks  being  kept  there  in  the 
finest  possible  condition.  In  some  parts,  it  is  true,  the  snow  covers  the  grass 
for  a  part  of  the  winter,  but  in  other  places  cattle  and  sheep  are  wintered  with- 
out feeding,  with  entire  success.  The  celebrated  parks,  North,  Middle,  South 
and  San  Luis,  are  fine  agricultural  valleys  for  grass  and  small  grains/' 

Gulch 'or  placer  mining,  although  the  first  form  of  gold  discovery  in  1859, 
has  been  prosecuted  in  Colorado  with  less  success  than  in  California — a  remark 
applicable  to  all  the  districts  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  with  perhaps  the 
single  exception  of  the  Confederate  gulch  near  Helena,  in  Montana  Territory. 
This  may  be  owing  to  the  less  degree  of  disintegration  to  which  the  veins,  or 
gold  geologically  in  situ,  have  been  exposed.  It  has  been  observed  that  on  the 
eastern  flank  of  the  great  Rocky  mountain  mass  volcanic  and  other  igneous 
action  has  been  less  violent,  the  country  is  less  abrupt,  and  the  action  of  the 
elements  has  been  less  marked  than  on  the  Pacific  slope,  and  therefore  placers 
are  not  so  frequent  or  productive.  Whatever  may  be  the  force  of  this  expla- 
nation, the  discoveries  and  developments  of  auriferous  quartz  lodes  in  the 
Gregory  district  have  mostly  contributed  thus  far  to  the  settlement  of  Colorado. 
This  district  extends  from  Gold  Hill  to  Empire  City,  about  thirty  miles  along 
the  base  of  the  snowy  range,  amd  is,  on  the  average,  about  ten  miles  in  width—- 
an area  of  three  hundred  square  miles  of  gold-producing  mountains,  in  which 
many  quartz  mills  are  in  operation.  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the 
range  of  gold-bearing  quartz  is  .not^  limited  to  the  Gregory  district,  but  is  as 
extensive  as  the  snowy  range  itself.  t  * 

The  successful  reduction  of  auriferous  rock  is  a  problem  of  the  future.  The 
immense  production  of  Siberia,  California,  and  Australia  is  mostly  washed  from 
the  sands  of  rivers  or  the  adjacent  detritus,  nature,  in  each,  case,  having  over- 
come the  mechanical  and  chemical  difficulties  presented  by  the  matrix  of  gold. 
In  the  reduction  of  Colorado  ores  the  chemical  are  the  chief  difficulties.  The 
auriferous  quartz  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  when  pulverized,  yields  the  gold  readily 
to  the  attraction  of  quicksilver — the  gold  is  "free;"  but,  with  hardly  an  excep- 
tion, a  Colorado  mine  exhibits  a  most  refractory  combination  of  gold  with  the 
sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper.  Nor  are  these  the  only  mineral  associations 
which  often  baffle  all  former  appliances  for  the  separation  of  baser  metals. 
Quartz  mining  in  Colorado  has  hitherto  been  unsuccessful  from  the  failure  of 
numerous  processes  and  methods  of  desulphurization  and  amalgamation  which 
had  proved  efficient  in  Europe  and  even  in  California;  but  during  1866  several 
American  inventions,  or  new  combinations  of  existing  methods,  have  been  intro- 
duced, and  are  now  in  course  of  trial.  I  shall  not  venture  to  describe  their  practical 
operation  or  decide  upon  their  success.  Hereafter,  as  a  result  of  personal  exam- 
ination and  a  full  comparison  of  opinion,  it  may  be  practicable  to  do  so;  but  at 
present  there  is  no  subject  which  would  more  appropriately  command  the  atten- 
tion of  a  scientific  commission. 

The  mechanical  obstructions  to  working  a  gold  mine  in  Colorado  are  very 


328      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

great.  In  working  a  vein  or  lode,  the  iron  or  copper  pyrites  are  usually  sep- 
arated from  surface  quartz  by  what  is  called  cap,  or  a  shutting  up  of  the  vein 
by  the  wall  rock.  This  is  the  great  difficulty  in  opening  a  mine — it  recurs  in 
descending,  but  the  intrusion  is  less  and  less.  The  Montgomery  district  in 
southern  Colorado  will  afford  an  illustration.  First,  the  blossom  rock,  desul- 
phurized by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  was  readily  crushed  and  yielded 
its  gold  to  amalgamation;  but  soon  the  surface  ore  was  exhausted;  it  became 
necessary  to  traverse  the  cap  rock,  often  150  feet  deep,  which  was  a  tedious 
and  expensive  process,  but  at  length  the  indurated  pyritous  ore  was  reached, 
very  productive  of  gold,  but  requiring  to  be  removed  and  reduced  at  a  great 
cost  of  time,  labor,  capital,  and  skill.  {Still,  as  some  compensation,  the  testimony 
is  quite  general  that  the  mine  widens  and  grows  more  productive  of  gold  at  its 
lower  stages. 

The  auriferous  veins  of  Colorado  are  represented  to  be  from  six  inches  to 
nine  feet  in  width.  Governor  Evans  claims  that  in  most  of  the  lodes  now 
worked  the  quartz  rock  yields  an  average  of  thirty-six  dollars  per  ton,  but  that 
.a  production,  threefold  greater  may  be  expected  when  the  reduction  of  ores 
reaches  the  perfection  of  a  scientific  assay.  Lodes  in  California  with  present 
facilities  of  labor,  transportation,  and  supplies,  are  found  to  pay  the*  owner,  if 
$10  per  ton  gross  can  be  obtained  from  the  rock.  In  Nevada,  over  the  moun- 
tains, only  300  miles  from  the  coast,  and  with  very  considerable  adv^^ntages  of 
transportation  by  turnpikes,  a  lode  must  yield  $25  gross  per  ton  to  reward  the 
owner  for  working  it ;  and  this  statement  may  be  made  in  regard  to  quartz 
mining  in  Colorado,  while  in  New  Mexico  and  Montana,  even  with  security  from 
Indian  hostilities,  a  lode  must  yield  $40  per  ton  to  pay.  If  the  advantages  in 
prices,  freights,  &c.,  which  exist  in  California,  were  supplied  to  the  interior  by 
railroads,  all  the  mining  territories  would  profitably  develop  their  quartz  mines 
at  $10  per  ton  gross  product. 

MONTANA. 

Of  the  streams  which  unite  to  form  the  Missouri  river,  the  Jefferson,  or  most 
western  tributary,  has  been  the  principal  scene  of  gold  discovery.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1862  a  party  of  Minnesota  emigrants  crossed  the  northern  plains  destined 
to  the  Salmon  river  mines.  On  reaching  the  Rocky  mountains  they  found  par- 
ties of  prospectors  upon  the  Prickly  Pear  and  Beaver  Head  branches  of  the  Jef- 
ferson, and  in  the  Deer  Lodge  valley,  upon  remote  tributaries  of  the  Columbia. 
In  September  these  explorations  were  successful  on  Grasshopper  creek,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Beaver  Head,  and  the  placer  mines  of  Bannock  City  soon  attracted 
a  considerable  mining  population.  In  May,  1863,  a  discovery  of  bar  or  placer 
mines  was  made  about  fifteen  miles  west  of  Bannock,  on  Horse  Prairie  creek, 
another  branch  of  the  Beaver  Head.  It  was  of  limited  extent,  but  quite  pro- 
ductive. In  June,  1863,  there  were  further  discoveries  of  placer  mines  about 
seventy  miles  east  of  Bannock,  on  Alder  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Jefferson. 
These  have  proved  of  much  larger  extent  and  richness,  extending  continuously 
more  than  fifteen  miles.  Virginia  City  is  in  their  vicinity.  These  two  districts 
are  respectively  about  fifty  miles  eastward  from  the  summits  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  being  within  the  semicircular  park  which  the  Rocky  mountains  en- 
close between  latitudes  44°  to  46°  and  longitude  112°  to  114°.  A  still  more 
remarkable  development  of  gulch  or  placer  mining  occurred  in  1865  at  Helena, 
a  district  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  east  of  north  from  Virginia  City, 
but  still  two  hundred  miles  southwest  of  Fort  Benton,  ascending  the  course  of 
the  Missouri  and  the  Jefferson.  Some  of  the  statements  in  regard  to  Confed- 
erate gulch,  near  Helena,  are  difficult  of  belief.  It  is  said  that  during  three 
months  of  the  summer  of  1866  three  miners  took  2,100  pounds  of  gold,  or 
8441,000,  from  a  space  three  rods  square,  on  Montana  bar,  in  Confederate  gulch. 
A  total  production  of  $15,000,000  to  $20,000,000  for  1866  is  also  claimed. 


GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  329 

There  "are  many  inducements  to  exaggeration  in  these  statements.  For  some 
years  after  the  California  discovery  the  demand  for  coinage  induced  large  de- 
posits at  the  government  mints,  but  for  the  last  half  of  the  period  since  3848  a 
great  proportion  of  the  gold  and  silver  product  in  the  United  States  has  been 
cast  into  bars  or  ingots  by  private  assayers.  This  proportion  may  now  be  stated 
at  fully  one-half.  Since,  therefore,  the  United  States  mints  and  assay  office  re- 
port $5,505,687  30  from  Montana  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1866,  it 
will  be  safe  to  double  that  amount  as  the  probable  production  in  that  year.  A 
communication  to  the  Treasury  Department  from  an  intelligent  citizen  of  Mon- 
tana only  claimed  $6,000,000  as  the  production  of  1865.  The  following  state- 
ment is  more  likely  to  be  correct  than  the  bulk  of  newspaper  reports  : 

1863 , $2,  000,  000 

1864 5, 000,  000 

1865 - 6,  000,  000 

1866 . . 12, 000,  000 


25,  000,  000 

Considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  quartz  mining.  Over  two  hundred 
lodes  have  been  opened  sufficiently  to  prove  their  value.  The  average  yield  of 
the  vein-rock  is  stated  at  forty  dollars  per  ton.  There  are  seventeen  quartz 
mills  in  the  Territory,  of  which  ten  are  in  operation.  Thirty  are  in  process  of 
erection.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  minmg  centres  enumerated— Bannock,  Virginia, 
and  Helena — 2,500  lodes  represented  to  be  gold-bearing  have  been  prospected 
and  titles  recorded. 

About  the  first  of  June,  1864,  ores  of  argentiferous  galena,  of  which  some 
indications  had  been  previously  observed,  were  discovered  to  be  valuable.  The 
first  silver  mines  were  opened  on  Rattlesnake  creek,  a  branch  of  Beaver  Head 
river,  about  fifteen  miles  north  of  Bannock.  Then  followed,  during  the  summer 
of  1864,  discoveries  of  similar  veins  in  the  Prickly  Pear  region,  within  three  or 
four  miles  of  Bannock,  in  a  district  about  twenty-four  miles  northwestwardly  of 
Virginia  City,  near  gulches  known  as  the  Mill  and  Wisconsin,  and  upon  the 
mountains  enclosing  Deer  Lodge  valley.  These  silver  veins,  although  bearing 
more  or  less  gold,  are  not  necessarily  connected  with  the  gold  districts  hitherto 
explored ;  and  a  geological  exploration  would  probably  show  that  the  silver  de- 
posits of  Montana  are  more  extensive,  with  a  probability  of  becoming  more  pro- 
ductive, than  the  gold  mines.  The  assays  of  argentiferous  galena  have  exhibited 
results  from  $100  to  $1,700  per  ton.  Three  furnaces  for  smelting  silver  are  in 
operation — one  at  Bannock,  one  at  Argenta,  on  a  tributary  of  the  Beaver  Head, 
and  the  third  in  the  valley  of  the  Boulder,  a  tributary  of  the  Jefferson. 

Upon  the  foregoing  basis  of  exploration  and  discovery  in  Montana,  the  popu- 
lation may  be  estimated  as  follows  : 

Jefferson  and  Edgerton  counties,  including  Prickly  Pear  and  Helena 

districts 12,  000 

Madison  county,  Virginia  City v ,  7,  000 

Beaver  Head  county,  Bannock  City 2,  000 

Deer   Lodge  valley,  (western  slope) 3,  000 

Bitter  Root  valley,  (western slope) 1,  000 

Fort  Benton  and  vicinity 1,  000 

Other  parts  of  the  Territory 2,  000 

28,  000 


It  is  now  well  ascertained  that  the  coal,  iron,  and  petroleum  formations  ob- 
served in  Colorado  are  extended  northward  under  the  same  conditions  and  in 


330      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

equal  proportion  along  the  eastern  flank  of  the  Rocky  mountains  and  far  into 
British  territory.  As  the  general  level  of  the  plains  at  Fort  Benton  and  vicinity  * 
is  also  ascertained  to  be  about  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  or  two  thousand 
feet  less  than  the  altitude  of  Denver,  there  is  no  appreciable  difference  of  climate 
between  those  localities,  and  the  remarks  in  regard  to  agriculture  and  stock- 
raising  in  Colorado  will  equally  apply  to  Montana. 

In  the  autumn  of  1866  a  large  number  of  copper  lodes  was  discovered  on  the 
head-waters  of  the  Mujscleshell  river,  which  yield  from  thirty  to  seventy  per 
cent,  of  the  pure  copper,  in  crevices  ranging  from  four  to  six  feet  in  width.  The 
metal  is  found  in  combination  with  the  oxide  and  green  carbonate  of  copper. 
These  copper  mines  are  convenient  to  the  wagon  road,  from  Helena  to  the  mouth 
of  the  TMuscleshell,  which  is  substantially  the  head  of  steamboat  navigation  on 
the  Missouri  river. 

Near  the  old  Mormon  settlement  at  Fort  Lemhi,  upon  the  head-waters  of 
Salmon  river,  in  Idaho,  important  gold  discoveries  in  1866  have  attracted  popu- 
lation— a  settlement  forty  miles  distant  from  Bannock  city,  and  having  business  » 
relations  almost  exclusively  with  Montana. 

UTAH. 

The  dominant  ecclesiastical  organization  of  Utah  is  adverse  to  mining  for  gold 
and  silver,  although  iron  and  copper  mines  have  been  worked  successfully  in  the 
Wahsatch  mountains.  The  general  testimony  is  that  silver  will  be  discovered 
in  many  localities.  Sixty  miles  south  of  Great  Salt  Lake  city  veins  of  argen- 
tiferous galena  in  Rush  River  district  have  proved  valuable,  and  mining  opera- 
tions, including  the  construction  of  furnaces,  are  well  advanced.  These  ores  assay 
260  ounces  of  silver.  Coal  for  the  supply  of  Great  Salt  Lake  city  is  mined  at 
a  distance  of  forty  miles.  An  extensive  silver  district,  in  the  southwestern 
Angle  of  Utah,  was  lately  transferred  to  the  State  of  Nevada. 

DAKOTA. 

In  addition  to  the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  mines  of  Montana,  under  the 
average  longitude  of  110°,  the  explorations  of  Lieutenant  G.  K.  Warren,  in 
1847,  and  "of  Captain  W.  F.  Reynolds,  in  1859  and  1860,  under  directions  of 
the  United  States  topographical  office,  have  satisfactorily  established  that  the 
Black  hills  of  Dakota  Territory,  situated  on  the  forty-fourth  parallel  of  latitude 
and  between  the  103d  and  105th  meridians  of  longitude,  are  rich  in  gold  and 
silver,  as  well  as  coal,  iron,  copper,  and  pine  forests. 

The  area  occupied  by  the  Black  hills,  as  delineated  on  a  map  which  accom- 
panies Lieutenant  Warren's  report,  is  6,000  square  miles,  or  about  the  surface 
of  Connecticut.*  Their  bases  are  elevated  from  2,500  to  3,500  feet,  and  the  highest 
peaks  are  about  6,700  feet  above  the  ocean  level.  The  whole  geological  range 
of  rocks,  from  the  granite  and  metamorphosed  azoic  to  the  cretaceous  formations 
of  the  surrounding  plains,  are  developed  by  the  upheaval  of  the  mountain  mass. 
Thus,  at  the  junction  of  silurian  rocks,  gold  becomes  accessible,  while  the  car- 
boniferous strata  bring  coal  measures  within  reach. 

With  the  pacification  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  and  the  establishment  of  emigrant 
roads,  this  district  of  Dakota  would  doubtless  be  the  scene  of  great  mining  ex- 
citement, as  the  gold-field  of  the  Black  hills  is  accessible  at  a  distance  of  120 
miles  from  the  Missouri  river. 

SASKATCHEWAN. 

As  early  as  1862  some  American  explorers  washed  from  the  bed  of  the  North 
Saskatchewan  river,  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles  from  its  extreme  sources 
in  the  Rocky  mountains,  minute  particles  of  gold,  but  with  no  return  exceeding  one 
cent  to  the  pa?i  or  five  dollars  per  day.  In  subsequent  years  the  emigrants  from 


GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  331 

Selkirk  settlement,  and  a  few  American  adventurers,  obtained  more  satisfactory 
results,  there  being  frequent  instances  of  ten  dollars  as  a  daily  average,  from  bars 
or  gulches  nearer  the  mountains.  As  the  Montana  explorations  have  advanced 
towards  the  international  frontier,  each  encampment  proving  more  productive  than 
its  predecessors,  the  opinion  has  prevailed  that  the  sources  of  the  Saskatchewan 
would  develop  rich  deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  especially  near  the  great  centre 
of  physical  disturbance,  where  Mount  Hooker  reaches  an  elevation  of  16,000  feet, 
and  Mount  Brown  15,700  feet  above  the  sea,  and  from  which  the  waters  of  the  Sas- 
katchewan, Peace,  Frazer,  and  Columbia  rivers  diverge  to  three  oceans.  So 
prevalent  is  this  belief  in  Montana  that  a  sudden  migration  of  thousands  may  at 
any  moment  be  anticipated.  Probably  the  intelligence  received  in  Oregon^during 
November,  1866,  that  American  prospectors  at  the  Kootonais  mines  had  passed 
the  mountains  on  or  beyond  the  boundary  of  49°  and  found  rich  washings,  re- 
turning even  $60  daily  to  the  hand,  on  the  sources  of  the  South  Saskatchewan, 
will,  if  fully  confirmed,  be  the  signal  of  a  movement  over  the  border  into'  th°i 
Saskatchewan  basin  as  remarkable  as  that  which  filled  the  valley  of  Frazer  river 
with  miners  from  California  and  Oregon  in  1859. 

VERMILLION  DISTRICT. 

In  1865,  attention  was  directed  to  discoveries  of  gold  and  silver  northwest 
of  Lake  Superior,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  Lake  Vermillion,  an  expansion 
of  a  stream  of  that  name,  is  the  centre  of  the  district  in  question.  The  outline 
of  this  lake  is  very  irregular.  With  a  diameter  of  thirty  miles,  its  surface  is  so  stud- 
ded with  islands,  its  shore  so  broken  with  bays  and  headlands,  that  the  entire 
coast  line  cannot  be  less  than  two  hundred  miles  in  extent.  In  1848,  Dr.  J.  G. 
Norwood,  of  Owens's  geological  survey,  passed  from  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Louis  river,  at  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Superior,  to  the  sources  of  the 
Vermillion  river,  and  descending  through  the  lake  to  the  Rainy  river,  furnished 
a  sketch  of  its  natural  features  and  mineral  exposures.  His  statements  are  re- 
peated, so  far  as  they  record  the  usual  indications  of  a  gold  formation. 

Before  entering  Vermillion  lake  from  the  south,  Dr.  Norwood  mentions  a  per- 
pendicular fall  of  eight  feet  over  "  silicious  slate,  hard  and  gray,  with  minute 
grains -of  iron  pyrites  sparsely  disseminated  through  it."  This  rock  bears 
east  and  west,  with  thin  seams  of  quartz  between  the  laminse  running  in  the 
line  of  bearing.  There  are  also  irregular  patches  of  quartz  from  eight  to  ten. 
feet  long,  and  from  six  to  twelve  inches  wide,  which  cross  the  strike  at  right 
angles.  The  river  is  broken  by  falls  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above,  or  south 
of,  Lake  Vermillion. 

The  islands  in  the  lake  indicate  very  distinctly  volcanic  action,  one  of  them 
being  an  extinct  crater.  The  prevalent  rocks  are  talcose  slate,  which  Dr.  Nor- 
wood describes  as  "  eminently  magnesian,  thinly  laminated  and  traversed  by 
numerous  veins  of  quartz  from  an  inch  to  five  feet,  wide,  some  of  which  contain 
beautiful  crystals  of  iron  pyrites."  He  adds,  that  "  from  some  indications  no- 
ticed, other  more  valuable  minerals  will  probably  be  found  associated  with  it." 
A  specimen  obtained  about  midway  of  the  lake  is  catalogued  as  "  quartz  of 
reddish  brown  color ;  cristaline,  with  yellow  iron  pyrites,  crystallized  as  well  as 
foliated,  disseminated  through  it." 

These  quartz  veins  were  ascertained  in  1865-'66  to  be  auriferous.  A  speci- 
men weighing  three  pounds,  containing  copper  pyrites,  was  forwarded  by  the 
governor  of  Minnesota  to  the  mint  in  Philadelphia,  and  upon  assay,  was  found 
to  contain  $23  63  of  gold  and  $4  42  of  silver  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  The  State 
geologist,  Mr.  H.  H.  Eames,  reports  an  abundant  supply  of  quartz  equal  in  rich- 
ness. Other  assays  in  New  York — in  one  instance,  by  officers  of  the  United 
States  assay  office— show  results  from  $10  to  $35  per  ton.  There  are  rumors 
of  larger  proportions,  but  the  above  are  fully  authenticated.  Professor  J  V.  Z. 


332      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN 

t 

Blaney,  of  Chicago,  describes  a  vein  ten  feet  in  width,  at  the  foot  of  a  shaft  of 
fifty  feet,  which  is  "  indubitably  gold-bearing  ;"  and  adds,  "  that  specimens  taken 
from  its  central  portion,  as  proven  by  a^say,  would  be  sufficient  in  California, 
Colorado,  and  other  successful  mining  regions,  to  warrant  further  exploration." 
Washings  of  the  drift  near  the  veins  opened  have  produced  gold,  but  in  limited 
quantities. 

The  productiveness  of  the  Vermillion  mines  is  not  yet  determined,  but  will  be 
tested  by  several  mining  organizations  during  the  current  year. 

CANADIAN    MINES. 

When  in  1862  gold  was  discovered  upon  the  sources  of  the  Saskatchewan,  a 
newspaper  at  Selkirk  settlement,  the  Norwester,  published  statements  of  the 
existence  of  gold  between  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Winnipeg.  Since  the  Ver- 
million discovery,  rumors  of  its  extension  into  British  America  aro  prevalent,  and 
suggest  a  probability  that  the  mountain  chain  known  to  geographers  as  the 
Laurentian,  which  separates  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  lakes  from 
the  tributaries  of  Hudson  bay,  may  reveal  to  future  explorers  extensive  de- 
posits of  gold  and  silver.  The  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  including  the  sand- 
stones of  Lake  Superior,  is  a  lower  silurian  formation ;  that  of  Hudson  bay, 
granitic  or  primary,  with  many  evidences  in  Minnesota,  and  along  the  Canadian 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  of  eruptive  or  igneous  agencies. 

Sir  Roderick  Murchison  has  frequently  advanced  the  opinion  that  the  pro- 
ductive gold  districts  of  the  world  occur  where  the,  silurian,  and  perhaps  the 
lower  strata  of  devonian  rocks  are  in  contact  with,  or  have  been  penetrated  by, 
greenstones,  porphyries,  serpentine,  granitic  and  other  rocks  of  the  primary  for- 
mation. Gold,  especially  when  traced  to  its  original  matrix,  is  found  to  occur 
chiefly  in  veins  or  lodes  of  quartz  rising  from  beneath  and  cutting  through  the 
secondary  strata  or  beds  of  which  the  surface  was  previously  composed.  These 
conditions  are  observed  in  the  Vermillion  district,  and  Professor  Owen,  as  early 
as  1850,  traced  in  this  locality  of  Minnesota,  and  northeastwardly  along  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  in  Canada,  what  he  denominated  a  "  great  plutonic 
chain,"  and  "  the  main  axis  of  dislocation,"  from  which  silurian  sandstones  ex- 
tend southwardly  through  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  while  on  the  north  the 
streams  which  are  turned  towards  Hudson  bay  traverse  a  region  exclusively 
granitic,  or  primary.  If  in  Minnesota  an  auriferous  belt  has  marked  this  line  of 
junction,  we  may  with  reason  'anticipate  its  extension  eastwardly  into  Canada, 
and  northwestwardly  towards  Lake  Winnipeg.  Indeed,  as  English  explorers 
trace  this  contact  of  primary  and  silurian  formations  along  the  basins  of  Lakes 
Slave  and  Athabasca,  and  the  channel  of  the  Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic  ocean,  it 
becomes  an  interesting  problem  for  future  solution,  whether  the  auriferous  de- 
posits of  British  Columbia  and  Saskatchewan  may  not  be  extended  with  various 
degrees  of  productiveness  along  the  crest  which  separates  the  waters  of  the 
Gulfs  of  Mexico  and  St.  Lawrence  from  those  of  the  Arctic  ocean  and  Hudson 
bay,  quite  as  the  discoveries  of  this  century  now  follow  the  Ural  mines  eastward 
through  Siberia  to  the  Pacific. 

The  intrusion  of  granitic  rocks  is  not  confined  in  Minnesota  to  the  north- 
eastern angle  of  the  State.  *It  has  been  traced  southwestwardly,  near  Sauk 
Rapids,  upon  the  Upper  Minnesota,  and  even  to  the  northwestern  boundary  of 
Iowa,  in  a  wedge-like  shape,  although  covered  in  most  places  by  the  mass  of 
drift  which  constitutes  so  large  a  portion  of  the  surface  of  Minnesota.  A  similar 
granitic  cape,  with  its  associated  minerals,  may  be  the  explanation  of  the  alleged 
gold  deposits  in  the  township  of  Madoc,  near  Kingston,  in  Canada  West. 

In  regard  to  the  Madoc  mines,  the  only  facts  fully  established  at  the  date  of 
this  report  are,  that  Chicago  parties  have  become  purchasers  of  fifteen  acres, 
the  principal  locality  of  the  alleged  discovery,  for  the  sum  of  $35,000 ;  that  at 


GOLD  MINES   EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS,  333 

an  excavation  of  six  feet,  made  originally  in  search  of  copper,  gold  in  consid- 
erable quantities  has  been  found  in  coarse  sand,  in  decayed/ quartz,  and  also  in 
a  cream- colored  quartz  that  abounded  in  a  crevice  and  its  surroundings  ;  and 
that  an  assistant  of  Sir  William  Logan,  the  government  geologist,  has  written 
a  letter  to  L'Ordre,  of  Montreal,  in  which  he  says  that  the  mine — "  the  Rich- 
ardson"— "  is  as  remarkable  for  its  richness  as  for  the  manner  of  its  existence," 
and  that  "  he  sees  in  the  Richardson  the  best  as  well  as  the  most  encouraging 
of  all  indications  for  the  search  of  gold  in  Upper  Canada."  A  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  Tribune,  apparently  disinterested,  and  writing  from  the  vi- 
cinity January  22,  1867,  asserts  that  "  some  thousands  of  dollars  of  native 
gold  have  already  been  secured  from  this  mine  and  other  adjacent  localities,  and 
sold  in  Belleville,  Canada  West,  to  jewellers,  who  pronounced  it  a  very  good 
quality,  fully  equal  to  that  of  Australia."  This  section  of  Canada  is  also 
known  to  abound  in  copper,  iron,  lead,  slate,  and  marble. 

The  Chaudiere  mines,  near  Quebec,  are  probably  a  development  of  the  Alle- 
ghanian  range.  They  have  hitherto  been  confined  to  placer  or  alluvial  mining 
on  the  tributaries  of  the  Chaudiere.  Quartz  mining  has  not  been  prosecuted  to 
any  great  extent,  although  an  official  publication  by  the  Canadian  government 
reports  assays  at  $21,  $37,  and  even  $95  p5r  ton. 

NOVA   SCOTIA. 

The  gold  fields  of  Nova  Scotia  consist  of  some  ten  or  twelve  districts  of 
quite  limited  area  in  themselves,  but  lying  scattered  along  the  southeastern  coast 
of  the  province.  The  whole  of  this  coast,  from  Cape  Sable  on  the  west  to 
Cape  Canso  on  the  east,  a  distance  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  is 
bordered  by  a  fringe  of  hard,  slaty  rocks,  slate  and  sandstone  in  irregular  al- 
ternations, sometimes  argillaceous  and  occasionally  granitic.  These  rocks  are 
always,  when  stratified,  found  standing  in  a  high  angle,  sometimes  almost  ver- 
tical, and  with  a  course  in  the  main  very  nearly  due  east  and  west.  They 
seldom  rise  to  any  great  elevation,  the  promontory  of  Aspatagon,  about  five 
hundred  feet  high,  being  the  highest  land  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  province. 
The  general  aspect  of  the  shore  is  low,  rocky  and  desolate,  strewn  often  with 
large  boulders  of  granite  or  quartzite.  This  zone  of  metamorphic  rocks  varies 
in  width  from  six  or  eight  miles  at  its  eastern  extremity  to'  forty  or  fifty  at  its 
widest  points,  presenting  in  its  northern  boundary  only  a  rude  parallelism  with 
its  southern  margin,  and  composing  about  six  thousand  square  miles  of  surface, 
the  general  outline  of  ^hat  may,  geologically  speaking,  be  called  the  gold  region 
of  Nova  Scotia. 

A  contributor  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly  magazine  for  May,  1864,  enumerates 
Tangier  Harbor,  Wine  Harbor,  Sherbrooke,  Ovens,  Oldham,  Waverly,  Stormont, 
and  Lake  Loon — a  small  lake  only  five  miles  distant  from  Halifax — as  localities 
which  have  fully  determined  the  auriferous  character  of  the  district  already  de- 
scribed, and  selects  for  specific  description,  and  as  a  specimen  of  other  veins,  the 
Montague  lode  at  Lake  Loon.  The  course  of  this  is  E.  10°  N.,  that  being  the 
strike  of  the  rocks  by  the  compass  in  that  particular  district.  It  has  been  traced 
by  surface-digging  a  long  distance — not  less,  probably,  than  half  a  mile.  At 
one  point  on  this  line  there  is  a  shift  or  fault  in  the  rocks,  which  has  heaved  the 
most  productive  portion  of  the  vein  about  thirty-five  feet  to  the  north ;  but  for 
the  rest  of  the  distance,  so  far  as  yet  open,  the  whole  lode  remains  true  and  un- 
disturbed. 

"  Its  dip  with  the  rocks  around  it  is  almost  vertical,  say  from  85°  to  80°  south. 
The  vein  is-  contained  between  walls  of  slate  on  both  sides,  and  is  a  double  or 
composite  vein,  being  formed,  first,  of  the  main  leader  ;  second,  of  a  smaller  vein 
on  the  other  side,  with  a  thin  slate  partition-wall  between  the  two ;  and  third, 
of  a  strongly  mineralized  slate  foot-wall,  which  is  in  itself  really  a  most  valuable 
portion  of  the  ore-channel. 


334  GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

"  ^he  quartz  which  composes  these  interposed  sheets,  thus  separated,  yet 
combined,  is  crystallized  throughout,  and  highly  mineralized  ;  belonging,  in  fact, 
to  the  first  class  of  quartz  lodes  recognized  in  all  the  general  descriptions  of  the 
veins  of  this  region.  The  associated  minerals  are,  here,  cuprite  or  yellow- 
copper,  green  malachite  or  carbonate  of  copper,  mispickel  or  arsenical  pyrites, 
zinc  blende,  scsquioxide  of  iron,  rich  in  gold,  and  also  frequent  '  sights'  or  visible 
masses  of  gold  itself.  The  gold  is  also  often  visible  to  the  naked  eye  in  all  the 
associated  minerals,  and  particularly  in  the  mispickel  and  blende. 

"  The  main  quartz  vein  of  this  interesting  lode  varies  from  three  to  ten  inches 
in  thickness  at  different  points  on  the  surface-level,  but  is  reported  as  increasing 
to  twenty  inches  thick  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  already  carried  down  to  a 
depth  of  forty  feet.  This  very  considerable  variation  in  thickness  will  be  found 
to  be  owing  to  the  folds  or  plications  of  the  vein,  to  which  we  shall  hereafter 
make  more  particular  allusion. 

"The  minerals  associated  with  the  quartz  in  this  vein,  especially  the  cuprite 
and  mispickel,  are  found  most  abundantly  upon  the  foot- wall  side,  or  underside, 
of  the  quartz  itself.  The  smaller  accompanying  vein  before  alluded  to  appears 
to  be  but  a  repetition  of  the  larger  ^ne  in  all  its  essential  characteristics,  and  is 
believed  by  the  scientific  examiners  to  be  fully  as  well  charged  with  gold.  That 
this  is  likely  to  come  up  to  a  very  remarkable  standard  of  productiveness,  per- 
haps more  so  than  any  known  vein  in  the  world,  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  offi-* 
cial  statement  in  the  Royal  Gazette  of  Wednesday,  January  20,  1864,  published 
by  authority  at  the  chief  gold  commissioner's  office  in  Halifax,  in  which  the 
average  yield  of  the  Montague  vein  for  the  month  of  October,  1863,  is  given  as 
3  oz.  3  dwt.  4  gr.;  for  November,  as  3  oz.  10  dwt.  13  gr.;  and  for  December,  as 
5  oz.  9  dwt.  8  gr.,  to  the  ton  of  quartz  crushed  during  these  months,  respectively. 
Nor  is  the  quartz  of  this  vein  the  only  trustworthy  source  of  yield.  The  under- 
lying slate  is  filled  with  bunches  of  mispickel,  not  distributed  in  a  sheet  or  in 
any  particular  order,  so  far  as  yet  observed,  but  developed  throughout  the  slate, 
and  varying  in  size  from  that  of  small  nuts  to  many  pounds  in  weight — masses 
of  over  fifty  pounds  having  been  frequently  taken  out.  This  peculiar  mineral 
has  always  proved  highly  auriferous  in  this  locality,  and  a  careful  search  will 
rarely  fail  to  detect  •  sights '  of  the  precious  metal  imbedded  in  its  folds,  or  lying 
hidden  between  its  crystalline  plates. 

"  Nor  is  the  surrounding  mass  of  slate  in  which  this  vein  is  enclosed  without 
abundant  evidences  of  a  highly  auriferous  character.  Scales  of  gold  are  everywhere 
to  be  seen  between  its  laminae,  and,  when  removed  and  subjected  to  the  proceeds  of 
'dressing,'  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  its  also  yielding  a  very  handsome  return. 
In  fact,  the  entire  mass  of  material,  which  is  known  to  be  auriferous,  is  not  less 
than  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  at  the  surface,  and  will  doubtless  be  found,  as  all 
experience  and  analogy  in  the  district  have  hitherto  shown  to  be  the  case,  to  in- 
crease very  considerably  with  the  increased  depth  to  which  the  shafts  will  soon 
be  carried.  No  difficulties  whatever  are  apprehended  here  in  going  to  a  very 
considerable  depth,  as  the  slate  is  not  hard  and  easily  permits  the  miner,  in  his 
progress,  to  bear  in  upon  4t  without  drilling  upon  the  closer  and  more  tenacious 
quartz. 

"  The  open  cut  made  by  the  original  owners  of  the  Montague  property,  and 
by  which  the  veins  have  been  in  some  degree  exposed,  absurd  and  culpable  as 
it  is  as  a  mode  of  mining,  has  yet  served  a  good  purpose  in  showing  in  a  very 
distinct  manner  the  structure  of  these  veins — a  structure  which  is  found  to  be  on 
the  whole  very  general  in  the  province.  The  quartz  is  not  found,  as  might 
naturally  be  supposed  from  its  position  among  sedimentary  rocks,  lying  in  any- 
thing like  a  plain,  even  sheet  of  equal  thickness.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  seen  to 
be  marked  \>y  folds  or  plications,  occurring  at  tolerably  regular  intervals,  and 
crossing  the  vein  at  an  angle  of  40°  or  45°  to  the  west.  Similar  folds  may  be 
produced  in  a  sheet  which  is  hung  on  a  line,  and  then  drawn  at  one  of  the 


GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   EOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  335 

lower  corners.  The  cross-section  of  the  vein  is  thus  maile  to  resemble  some- 
what the  appearance  of  a  chain  of  long  links,  the  rolls  or  swel&  alternating  with 
the  plain  spaces  throwgh  its  whole  extent.  Perhaps  a  better  comparison  is  that 
of  ripples  or  gentle  waves  as  seen  following  each  other  on  the  ebb-tide  in  a  still 
time  on  the  beach. 

"The  distribution  of  the  gold  in  the  mass  of  the  quartz  appears  to  be  highly 
influenced  by  the  peculiar  wavy  or  folded  structure.  All  the  miners  are  agreed  in 
the  statement  that  the  gold  abounda  most  at  the  swells  or  highest  points  of  the 
waves  of  rock,  ami  that  the  scarcely  less  valuable  mispickel  appears  to  follow  the 
same  law.  The  spaces  between  are  not  found  to  be  so  rich  As  these  points  of 
undulation ;  and  this  structure  must  explain  the  signal  contrast  in  thickness  and 
productiveness  which  is  everywhere  seen  in  sinking  a  shaft  in  this  district.  As 
the  cutting  passes  through  one  of  these  swells  the  thickness  of  the  vein  at  once 
increases,  and  again  diminishes  with  equal  certainty  as  the  work  proceeds ;  be- 
low this  point  destined  again  to  go  through  with  similar  alternations  in  its  mass  " 
The  gold  of  Nova  Scotia  is  remarkable  for  its  great  purity,  it  being  on  the 
average  twenty-two  carats  fine,  as  shown  by  repeated  assay.  The  bars  or  in- 
gots are  current  in  Halifax  at  $20  an  ounce.  Assays  by  Pr©fessor  Silliman,  of 
Yale  College,  have  ascertained  values  of  $1*9.97  and  $20  25,  and  the  gold  com- 
missioner of  Nova  Scotia  assumes  $19.50  as  the  basis  of  his  calculations  of  the 
gold  product  of  the  province. 

The  official  returns  of  the  deputy  gold  commissioners  for  the  several  districts 
to  the  chief  commissioner  at  Halifax  are  unusually  exact  and  reliable  in  re- 
gard to  the  most  important  point  of  the  whole  subject,  namely,  the  average 
yield  per  ton  of  quartz  crushed  at  the  mills.  By  regulations  of  the  mining 
department,  every  miner,  or  the  agent  or  chief  superintendent  of  each  mine,  is 
required,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  possession  of  the  mine,  to  make  a  quarterly 
return  of  the  amount  of  days'  labor  ex pended,  the  number  of  tons  raised  and 
crushed,  and  the  quantity  of  gold.  These  returns  are  not  likely  to  be  exaggera- 
ted, as  a  government  royalty  of  three  per  cent,  on  the  gross  product  is  exacted. 
Besides  the  miner's  report,  all  owners  of  quartz  mills  are  also  required  to  render 
official  returns  under  oath,  and  in  a  form  minutely  prescribed  by  the  provincial 
law,  of  all  quartz  crushed  by  them  during  each  month,  stating  particularly 
from  what  mine  it  was  raised,  for  whose  account  it  has  been  crushed,  and  what 
was  the  exact  quantity  in  ounces,  pennyweights,  and  grains.  Upon  this  basis 
it  appears  that  the  average  for  all  the  mining  districts  is  $30  per  ton  ;  while  the 
maximum  yield  at  some  of  the  prominent  mines  has  been  $1,000  per  ton  at 
Wine  Harbor,  $240  at  Sherbrook,  $220  at  Oldham,  and  $100  at  Stormont, 
during  the  months  of  October,  November  and  December,  1863.  These  results 
are  independent  of  the  great  waste  which  attends  the  reduction  of  pyritous 
ores.  The  cost  of  reduction  at  this  time  does  not  exceed  $7  per  ton,  owing  to 
the  moderate  scale  of  prices  for  labor,  supplies,  and  fuel  in  Nova  Scotia. 

The  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  already  referred  to,  accounts  for  the 
absence  %f  alluvial  gold  by  the  peninsular  formation  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  glacial  period  would  only  transport  the  detritus  of  auriferous  rocks 
beneath  the  Atlantic  ocean.  Therefore,  the  gold  of  Nova  Scotia  is  to  be  suc- 
cessfully sought  under  the  application  of  the  most  scientific  and  systematic 
methods  of  deep  quartz-mining.  His  summary  of  these  methods  is  so  suggest- 
ive that  it  will  be  cited  : 

"  The  ill-considered  system  of  allotting  small  individual  claims  at  first  adopted 
by  the  colortial  government  was  founded,  probably,  on  a  want  of  exact  know- 
ledge of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  gold  district,  and  the  consequent  expectation 
that  the  experiences  of  California  and  Australia  in  panning  and  washing  were 
to  be  repeated  here.  This  totally  inapplicable  system  in  a  manner  compelled 
the  early  single  adventurers  to  abandon  their  claims  as  soon  as  the  surface-water 
began  to  accumulate  in  their  little  open  pits  or  shallow  levels,  beyond  the  con- 


336  GOLD   MIKES   EAST   OF    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

trol  of  a  single  buckgt  or  other  .such  primitive  contrivance  for  bailing.  Even 
the  more  active  and  industrious  digger  soon  found  his  own  difficulties  to  accu- 
mulate just  in  proportion  to  his  own  superior  measure  of  activity,  since,  as  sooa 
as  he  carried  his  own  excavation  a  foot  or  two  deeper  than  his  neighbors,  he 
found  that  it  only  gave  him  the  privilege  of  draining  for  the  whole"  of  the  less 
enterprising  diggers,  whose  pits  had  not  been  sunk  to  the  same  level  as  his  own. 
Thus  the  adventurers  who  should  ordinarily  have  been  the  most  successful  were 
soon  drowned  out  by  the  accumulated  waters  from  the  adjacent  and  sometimes 
abandoned  claims.  Nearly  all  of  these  early  efforts  at  individual  mining  are 
now  discontinued,  and  the  claims  thus  shown  to  be  worthless  in  single  hands 
have  been  consolidated  in  the  large  companies,  who  alone  possess  the  means  to 
work  them  with  unity  and  success. 

"  The  present  methods  of  working  the  lodes,  as  now  practiced  in  Nova  Scotia, 
proceed  on  a  very  different  plan.  Shafts  are  sunk,  at  intervals  of  about  three 
hundred  feet,  on  the  course  of  the  lodes  which  it  is  proposed  to  work,  as  these 
ore  distinctly  traced  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  When  these  shafts  have 
been  carried  down  to  the  depth  of  sixty  feet,  or,  in  miner's  language,  ten  fathoms, 
horizontal  drifts  or  levels  are  pushed  out  from  them,  below  the  ground,  and  in 
either  direction,  still  keeping  on  the  course  of  the  lode.  While  these  subter- 
ranean levels  are  being  thus  extended,  the  shafts  are  again  to  be  continued 
downwards,  until  the  depth  of  twenty  fathoms,  or  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet, 
has  been  attained.  A  second  and  lower  set  of  levels  are  then  pushed  out  beneath, 
and  parallel  to,  the  first  named.  At  the  depth  of  thirty  fathoms  a  third  and 
still  lower  set  of  levels  will  extend  beneath  and  parallel  to  the  second.  The 
work  of  sinking  vertical  shafts,  and  excavating  horizontal  levels  to  connect 
them,  belongs  to  what  is  denominated  the  '  construction  of  the  mine,'  and  it  is 
only  after  this  has  been  completed  that  the  work  of  mining  proper  can  be  said 
to  begin. 

"  The  removal  .of  the  ore,  as  conducted  from  the  levels  by  which  access  to  it 
has  thus  been  gained,  may  be  carried  on  either  by  'direct'  or  by  'inverted 
grades ' — that  is,  either  by  breaking  it  up  from  underneath,  or  down  from  over- 
head, in  each  of  the  levels  which  have  now  been  described,  or,  as  it  is  more 
commonly  called  in  mining  language,  by  '  understoping '  or  by  'overstoping.' 
When  the  breadth  of  the  lode  is  equal  to  that  of  the  level,  it  is  perhaps  not 
very  material  which  plan  be  adopted.  But  when,  as  at  Oldham,  Montague,  or 
Tangier,  the  lodes  are  only  of  moderate  width,  and  much  barren  rock,  however 
soft  and  yielding,  has  of  necessity  to  be  removed  along  with  the  ore,  so  as  to 
give  a  free  passage  for  the  miner  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  drifts,  we 
shall  easily  understand  that  the  working  by  inverted  grades,  or  '  overstoping, ' 
is  the  only  proper  or  feasible  method.  In  this  case,  the  blasts  being  all  made 
from  the  roof,  or  'back '  as  it  is  called,  of  the  drift,  the  barren  or  '  dead '  rock,  con- 
taining no  gold,  is  left  on  the  floor  of  the  drift,  and  there  is  then  only  the  labor 
and  expense  of  bringing  the  valuable  quartz  itself,  a  much  less  amount  in  bulk, 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  accumulating  mass  of  the  dead  rock  under- 
foot will  then  be  constantly  raising  the  floor  of  the  drift,  and  as  constantly 
bringing  the  miners  within  convenient  working  distance  of  the  receding  roof.  In 
the  case  of  'understoping,'  however,  in  which  the  blasts  are  made  from  the  floor 
of  the  drift,  it  will  be  perceived  that  all  the  rock  which  is  moved,  of  whatever 
kind,  must  equally  be  brought  to  the  surface,  which  entails  much  greater  labor 
and  expense  in  the  hoisting;  and  gravity,  moreover,  instead  of  co-operating 
with,  counteracts,  it  will  be  understood,  the  effective  force  of  the  powder." 

There  is  quite  a  concurrence  of  testimony  that  the  quartz  seams  increase  in 
richness  as  they  descend,  although  the  excavations  have  not-,  as  yet,  been  car- 
ried to  depths  exceeding  one  hundred  feet. 

The  mining  statistics  of  Nova  Scotia  exhibit  very  accurately  the  average 
yield  per  man,  which,  in  1863,  was  95  cents  a  day ;  in  1864,  $1  39  j  and  in 


GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF    THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  337 

1865,  $2  13.  At  the  rate  per  diem  last  mentioned,  eacji  man  employed  pro- 
duced $684  80  per  annum.  The  Australian  estimates  of  the  production  per  man 
of  the  mining  population  do  not  exceed  an  annual  average,  since  1851,  of  $500. 
The  value  of  gold  produced  in  Nova  Scotia  during  the  year  ending  Septem- 
ber 30,  1865,  was  $509,080,  (paying  $18,038  in  rents  and  royalties;)  in  1864, 
$400,440 ;  in  1863,  $280,020 ;  and  in  1862,  $145,500.  The  earliest  discovery 
of  gold  occurred  in  1860.  The  productiveness  of  the  mines  was  not  diminished 
during  1866. 

ALLEGHANY   GOLD-FIELD. 

It  can  only  be  determined  by  a  geological  exploration,  which  shall  embrace 
Lower  Canada,  Maine,  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfoundland, 
whether  the  gold  formation  of  Nova  Scotia  is  associated  with  the  Laurentian 
range,  or  is  an  extension  of  the  auriferous  belt  which,  first  observed  upon  the 
Coosa  river  in  Alabama,  extends  in  a  general  northeast  direction  along  the  eastern 
flank  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Potomac  river,  with  some  partial  developments 
in  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Vermont,  and  New  Hampshire,  and  upon  the 
Chaucliere  river,  of  Lower  Canada.  In  the  latter  case,  the  mining  experience  of 
Nova  Scotia  may  yield  valuable  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  auriferous  lodes 
which  are  known  to  be  very  numerous  in  the  talcose  and  chloritic  schists  of  the 
southern  Alleghanies.  Since  the  California  discovery  of  1848,  little  attention 
has  been  given  to  alluvial  mining  in  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia ;  and 
until  recently  capitalists  fcave  acquiesced  in  the  opinion,  so  confidently  ex- 
pressed by  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  in  "Siluria"  and  other  publications,  that, 
notwithstanding  numerous  filaments  and  traces  of  gold  near  their  surface,  the 
Alleghany  vein-stones  held  no  body  of  ore  downwards  which  would  warrant 
deep  quartz  mining.  At  present,  with  twenty  years'  experience  in  gold  mi- 
ning ;  with  the  testimony  of  miners  in  Colorado  that  a  lode  apparently  closed 
by  cap-rock  can  be  recovered,  with  increased  richness,  at  a  lower  depth ;  with 
other  analogies,  however  imperfect,  from  the  successful  treatment  of  pyritous 
ores  in  Nova  Scotia;  and  with  the  earnest  application  of  inventive  minds  to 
new  and  improved  processes  of  desulphurization,  it  is  evident  that  the  working 
of  the  southern  mines  will  be  resumed,  perhaps  with  the  encouragement  of  a 
scientific  survey  under  the  auspices  of  the  general  government. 

The  deposits  of  gold  at  the  United  States  mint  and  its  branches  between  1804 
and  1866  from  the  States  traversed  by  the  Appalachian  gold-field  are  reported 
as  follows  : 

Virginia $1,  570,  182  82 

North  Carolina 9,  278,  627  67 

South  Carolina 1,  353,  663  98 

Georgia 6,  971,  681  50 

Alabama , 201,734  83 


19, 375, 890  80 

If  we  admit  '.hat  an  equal  quantity  passed  into  mamifactures  or  foreign  com- 
merce without  deposit  for  coinage,  the  aggregate  production  would  be  about 
$40,000,010,  of  which  fully  three-fourths,  or  $30,000,000,  was  mined  between 
1828  and  1848.  . 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  report  to  enumerate  the  enterprises  now  organ- 
izing for  the  development  of  the  Alleghany  mines,  but  to  recall  some  evidence, 
mostly  compiled  before  the  California  discovery,  in  regard  to  their  situation  and 
mineralogical  characteristics. 

H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 22 


338  GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

VIRGINIA. 

The  gold  veins  of  Virginia  extend  through  Fairfax,  Prince  William,  Fauquier, 
Culpeper,  Orange,  Spottsylvania,  Louisa,  Fluvanna,  Goochland,  Buckingham, 
and  a  few  adjoining  counties. 

In  1837  Professor  Benjamin  Silliman  published  (Journal  of  Science,  first  series, 
vol.  32,  p.  98)  the  results  of  a  personal  examination  of  mines  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fredericksburg,  of  which  a  brief  summary  will  be  given.  He  describes  the  gold- 
bearing  quartz  as  embedded  in  talcose  and  mica  slate,  principally  the  latter.  In 
far  the  greater  number  «f  cases  the  eye  detects  nothing  but  quartz,  or  sometimes 
metallic  sulphurets  of  iron,  zinc,  or  lead,  and  the  observer,  unless  previously  in- 
structed, would  never  suapect  the  presence  of  gold,  either  distinct  or  in  the 
metallic  sulphurets.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  quartz  veins  rich  washings  occur. 
In  Spottsylvania  county,  on  a  branch  near  the  Whitehall  mine,  $10,000  was 
taken  in  a  few  days  from  a  space  twenty  feet  square,  and  $7,000  was  found  near 
Tinder's  mine,  in  Louisa  county,  in  the  course  of  one  week.  It  often  happened 
that  successful  alluvial  mining  preceded  the  discovery  of  vein  mines.  Of  the 
latter  several  are  described : 

1.  Busty'*  mine,  situated  fifty  miles  from  Richmond  and  fifty -three  miles  from 
Fredericksburg,  in  solid  quartz  veins,  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  at  depth 
of  twenty-two  feet ;  structure  of  vein  coarsely  granular,  like  loaf-sugar,  free  from 
foreign  matter  except  inherent  gold,  and  so  white  that  even  when  pulverized  it 
showed  no  tint  of  color ;  yield  on  one  trial  $80  per  ton ;  on  another  trial  $240 
per  ton. 

2.  Moss  mine,  near  the  above ;  situated  in  decomposed  slate-rock ;  surface  of 
vein  little  else  than  red  clay,  but  firmer,  and  stratified  below  ;  inclination  of  rock 
and  included  quartz  vein  about  45° ;  direction  by  compass  north  by  east,  and 
south  by  west;  diameter  of  vein  sixteen,  eighteen,  twenty-four,  twenty-seven,  and 
thirty  inches,  averaging  twenty-four  inches;  quartz  laminar,  easily  broken. and 
separated  from  slate  by  blasting,  but  showing  no  signs  of  gold,  though  examined 
by  a  magnifier;  three  tests  returned  $100,  $140,  and  $200  per  ton,  yet  in  neither 
case  was  gold  visible  in  quartz  or  ore. 

3.  Walton  mine,  situated  in  Louisa  county,  forty  miles  southwest  of  Freder- 
icksburg ;  quartz  vein  firm  and  compact ;  one  foot  wide ;  occasionally  porous 
and  interspersed  with  iron   pyfttes  and  a  dark  iron  ore,  probably  proceeding 
from  their  decomposition;  penetrated  by  two  shafts  of  seVenty  and  forty  feet; 
first  trial  of  poor  ore,  $80  ;  second  trial  of  averag,e  ore,  $160  ;  third  trial  of  ore 
taken  at  random,  $400 ;  fourth   trial  of  specimen,  showing  gold  to  the  naked 
eye,  $2,660  per  ton ;  average  of  the  series  of  assays,  $820  per  ton. 

4.  Culprper  mine,  situated  eighteen  miles  west  of   Fredericksburg,  upon  the 
Rapidan ;  a  tract  of  524  acres ;  hydraulic  power  for  a  twenty-stamp  mill ;  four 
adits  with  connecting  shafts ;  main  vein  ten  feet  wide,  but  prone  to  divide  into 
strings  not  larger  than  a  finger,  nearly  parallel  and  separated  only  by  portions 
of  the  slaty  rock;  gold  more  abundant  in  these  strings  than  in  larger  veins; 
much  iron  accompanying  the  ore;  pulverized  quartz  always  red  or  brown ;  iron 
pyrites  in  some  places  fresh  and  brilliant,  elsewhere  decomposed ;  strata  nearly 
perpendicular ;  specimens  from  fourteen  localities,  mixed  together,  returned  $30 
per  ton ;  specimen  from  a  vein  considered  rich,  but  showing  no  sign  of  gold, 
gave  $80  per  ton. 

In  the  following  paragraph,  Professor  Silliman  only  anticipates  the  experience 
of  miners  at  this  day  : 

"  Gold  is  often  found  in  pyritical  ores  in  which  the  gold  is  embedded  in  fine 
particles.  This  mass  when  reduced  to  fine  powder  gives  a  residium  of  oxidized 
iron  about  equal  in  weight  to  the  fine  gold,  the  latter  being  malleable  or  flat- 
tened, while  the  former,  being  brittle,  remains  rounded  or  angular.  In  washing 
this  mixture  in  the  pan  the  gold  generally  remains  on  the  upper  side  of  the 


GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  339 

mass,  and  is  therefore  more  liable  to  be  washed  off  by  the  slightest  ripple  of  th^ 
water.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  gold  is  embedded  in  quartz  ores,  especially 
those  with  fine  fractures,  called  in  Virginia  '  sugar  ore,'  or  more  properly  gran- 
ular quartz,  the  gold  being  of  a  similar  form,  is  more  quickly  disengaged,  and 
appears  in  larger  grains. 

"On  the  contrary,  the  ferruginous  grains,  or  iron  sand,  are  so  fine  as  to  be 
scarcely  visible,  and  are  invariably  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  mass  or  residuum, 
and  therefore,  as  well  as  on  account  of  their  greater  weight,  are  much  less  liable 
to  be  carried  off  by  the  ripple  of  the  waters." 

Several  successful  instances  of  alluvial  mining  near  the  Rapidan  are  also 
mentioned;  on  a  Hempstead  farm,  $4,000  in  1831-'32,  of  which  nearly  $3,000 
in  sixty  days;  another  instance  two  or  three  miles  from  Rapidan,  $12,000;  a 
third,  $40,000;  all  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Culpepper  mine. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  foregoing  statements  relate  to  the  assays  of  ores 
from  the  Walton  mine.  Professor  Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  in- 
spected this  mine  in  1836,  and  ascertained  that  in  the  lower  adit  leading  from 
the  main  shaft,  the  auriferous  vein  was  twelve  inches  in  width,  and  that  the 
talcose  rock  underlying  the  vein  was  also  auriferous  to  a  distance  of  six  inches, 
and  sometimes  more,  from  the  quartz.  He  also  observed  the  continued  yield  from 
the  quartz,  and  the  uniform  dissemination  of  the  gold  throughout  the  vein,  and 
the  lower  enclosing  rock.  An  assay  of  Professor  Rogers  returned  $280  per  ton. 

A  writer  in  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine  for  December,  1865,  describes  the 
gold  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond ;  having  previously  given  some  general 
information  of  the  conditions  under  which  gold  has  been  discovered  and  mined. 
"Sienite,  gneiss,  greenstone,  and  porphyry,"  he  says,  "appear  to  be  the  pri- 
mary sources,  and  the  pyrites  are  evidently  the  immediate  matrix  of  gold.  All 
iron  pyrites  contain  gold,  and  often  silver,  only  excepting  those  of  the  coal 
formation ;  and  the  extensive  gold  deposits  of  Virginia  may  be  said  to  be  liter- 
ally one  continuous  belt  or  accumulation  of  veins  of  iron  pyrites. 

"Most  of  the  gold-bearing  rock  which  has  hitherto  be  eumined  in  Virginia  is 
principally  a  kind  of  talcose  slate,  somewhat  resembling  soapstone,  but  not  so 
greasy  to  the  touch.  This  slate  is  red  and  ferruginous  at  the  surface,  but  at  a 
greater  depth  is  filled  with  small  crystals  of  iron  pyrites  which  are  decomposed 
near  the  surface  and  appear  as  peroxyd  of  iron,  giving  the  slate  a  brown  or 
yellow  tinge.  This  slate  is  a  metamorphic  rcfck,  and  runs  in  a  regular  belt 
parallel  with  the  Alleghany  mountain  chain. 

"  The  gold  found  in  the  State  of  Virginia  occurs  in  exceedingly  small  grains, 
often  so  fine  as  to  be  not  only  invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  undiscernible  even 
by  the  assistance  of  a  strong  lens.  This  is  the  case  even  when  the  ores  are 
worth  three  or  four  dollars  per  bushel.  Some  veins  of  the  slate  region  contain, 
coarse  gold  in  grains  as  large  as  the  head  of  a  pin,  and  even  larger.  These  are 
generally  found  in  veins  of  quartz  in  which  the  pyrites  are  concentrated  into 
larger  masses.  Where  the  pyrites  are  disseminated  in  fine  crystals  through  the 
mass  of  the  rock,  the  gold  is  found  to  be  very  fine.  In  the  first  pyrites  the  gold 
is  often  invisible,  even  if  after  separation  it  appears  to  be  coarse.  By  natural 
or  artificial  decomposition  the  gold  becomes  visible,  the  pyrites  are  converted 
into  oxyd  of  iron,  and,  by  aid  of  a  lens,  the  gold  can  be  detected  embedded  in 
the  oxyd  of  iron.  Another  form  in  which  the  native  gold  is  not  unfrequeutly 
found  in  Virginia  is  in  quartz,  in  whick  it  is  embedded.  Solid  white  quartz, 
both  in  veins  and  in  crystals,  is  found,  in  which  the  gold  appears  in  spangles, 
plates,  grains,  and  also  in  perfectly  developed  crystals.  Throughout  the  gold 
regions  of  Virginia  copper  pyrites  are  found  in  all  the  metallic  deposits.  It  in- 
variably accompanies  the  gold  bearing  iron  pyrites,  and  is  always  considered  a 
good  indication  of  richness.  Cases  have  often  occurred  in  which  the  largest 
amount  of  treasure  has  been  abandoned,  because  the  miners  had  not  the  knowl- 
edge of  proper  appliances  for  separating  the  precious  yield  of  gold  and  copper.3' 


340      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

The  writer  of  the  article  here  quoted  proceeds  to  give  many  interesting  details 
of  the  gold  mines  of  Goochland,  Buckingham,  and  Flu van na  counties.  Among 
these  are  the  Belzoro  mine,  developing  seven  veins,  which  vary  in  width  from 
two  feet  six  inches  to  thirty  feet;  Marks  mine,  with  four  gold-bearing  quartz 
veins;  Waller  mine,  vein  of  brown  oxyd  of  iron,  six  feet  thick;  Tellurium 
mine,  sold  in  1848  to  Commodore  Stockton,  who  is  reported  to  have  ex- 
tracted $250,000  in  nine  years;  Snead  gold  mine,  of  three  veins,  one  of  them 
being  four  feet  wide,  and  composed  of  white  quartz,  which  contains  argentif- 
erous galena,  copper  sulphates,  and  gold ;  Ford  mine,  revealing  copper  pyrites 
largely ;  and  Lightfoot  mine,  with  four  well-known  and  very  rich  veins ;  all 
of  which  have  been  worked  successfully  at  different  periods  since  1 828. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  Virginia  in  other  respects  is  unsurpassed  by  Pennsyl- 
vania or  any  part  of  the  Union. 

NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  gold  district  of  North  Carolina  extends  from  northeast  to  southwest  in 
the  general  direction  of  its  leading  counties,  namely  :  Guilford,  Randolph,  Da- 
vidson, Rowan,  Stanly,  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  and  Union. 

In  1825  Professor  Denison  Olmstead  designated  as  the  district  within  which 
alluvial  mining  was  prosecuted,  the  counties  of  Montgomery  and  Anson,  and  the 
eastern  portions  of  Mecklenburg  and  Cabarrus  as  then  organized.  Gold  was 
first  discovered  in  a  "thin  stratum* of  gravel  enclosed  in  a  dense  clay,  usually  of 
a  pale  blue,  but  sometimes  of  a  yellow  color."  This  description  is  easily  recog- 
nizable as  the  detritus  of  th'e  gold  bearing  rock  afterwards  discovered  further 
to  the  west.  Many  facts  of  the  early  success  of  placer  mining  on  the  tributa- 
ries of  the  Pedee  might  be  adduced,  but  it  must  suffice,  in  this  connection,  to 
repeat  from  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina  an  enumeration  of  the  nuggets 
which  have  been  obtained  since  the  first  discovery  in  1799  : 

Tears.  Pounds.  Years.  Pounds. 

1799 , 4  1826 16 

1803 28  1826 9£ 

1804 9  1826 8^ 

1804 ',   7  1835 13| 

1804 3  1835 4J 

1804 2  1835 5 

1804 ... 1£  1835 8 

No  more  intelligible  account  of  the  placers  of  North  Carolina  exist  than  the 
-communication  of  Professor  Olmstead  in  1825,  from  which  a  few  paragraphs 
will  be  given.  After  describing  the  gold-bearing  alluvium  as  "  gravel  enclosed 
in  pale  blue  or  yellow  clay,"  he  adds  :  "  On  ground  that  is  elevated  and  exposed 
to  be  washed  by  rains  this  stratum  frequently  appears  at  the  surface,  and  in 
low  grounds,  where  the  alluvial  earth  has  been  accumulated  by  the  same  agent, 
it  is  found  at  the  depth  of  eight  feet ;  but  where  no  cause  operates  to  alter  its 
original  depth  it  lies  about  three  feet  below  the  surface.  A  miner  sometimes 
meets  a  stratum  of  the  ferruginous  oxide  of  manganese  in  a  rotten,  friable  state. 
In  some  instances  the  clay  is  deep  red." 

Very  soon,  however,  thele  gold  deposits  were  traced  to  the  auriferous  lodes 
traversing  a  belt  of  talcose,  micaceous,  chloritic,  and  hornblende  slates,  which 
passes  through  several  counties  on  the  east  side  of  another  belt  of  granite  and 
west  of  one  of  trap.  These  veins,  as  early  as  1828,  were  described  as  follows 
by  Charles  E.  Rothe,  a  miner  and  mineralogist  from  Saxony:  "They  occur 
in  greenstone  formation  often  from  two  to  four  feet  in  thickness  and  a  mile 
•or  more  in  length,  which  give  assurance  that  they  sink  to  a  considerable 


4 

GOLD    MINES    EAST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  341 

depth.  Their  general  direction  is  east  and  west,  dipping  occasionally  40°  to 
50°  north.  The  ores  and  minerals  in  these  veins  are  rhomboidal  iron  ore, 
prismatic  iron  ore,  pyramidal  copper  pyrites,  and  prismatic  iron  pyrites. 
In.  the  last  two  is  a  mechanical  mixture  with  each  other.  They 
show  distinct  signs  of  having  been  changed  from  their  original  form. 
Where  the  atmosphere  could  have  any  influence  on  the  pyrites  we  find  that 
one  part  of  the  sulphur  has  escaped,  the  consequence  of  which  is,  the  metallic 
appearance  of  the  pyrites  is  changed  to  that  of  brown-reddish  oxide  of  iron,  and 
owing  to  this  color  we  can  see  the  fine  particles  of  gold,  and  ascertain  the  rich- 
ness of  the  deposit.  But  where  the  pyrites  have  not  undergone  this  change,  then 
the  gold  cannot  be  discovered,  owing  to  the  color  being  nearly  the  same.  The 
greenstone  near  the  vein  is  most  generally  decomposed,  and  mixed  with  a  great 
number  of  loose  crystals  of  prismatic  iron  pyrites.  Between  the  greenstone  and 
the  vein,  or  at  the  place  of  junction,  the  gold  is  most  generally  found." 

The  gold  district  of  North  Carolina  is  the  second  belt  of  the  table-land,  its 
positions  moderately  elevated,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  the  highest  hills  of 
Davidson,  Randolph,  Rowan,  Cabarrus,  and  Mecklenburg  counties  are  traversed 
by  vein  fissures. 

In  1856  a  report  by  Ebenezer  Emmons,  upon  the  geology  of  the  midland  coun- 
ties of  North  Carolina,  was  published,  which  gives  a  detailed  description  of  thirty 
mining  localities.  Abstracts  of  his  observations  upon  the  leading  mines  of  Guil- 
ford,  Randolph,  Davidson,  Rowan,  Stanly,  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  and  Union 
counties  will  best  illustrate  the  characteristics  of  the  auriferous  belt  through  the 
State.  The  order  in  which  these  counties  are  named  coincides  with  their  geo- 
graphical position,  commencing  on  the  north  : 

1.  McCulloch  mine,  in  Guilford  county,  brown  or  desulphurized  ore,  to  a  depth 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet ;  vein  two  feet  wide  at  surface,  increasing  to  twenty- 
four  feet,  with  a  dip  at  rfngle  of  forty-five  degrees  ;  brown  ore,  soft  and  easily 
crushed,  yielding  $30  to  $40  per  ton,  and  sometimes  $100  ;  at  level  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet,  there  are  six  inches  brown  ore  on  foot-wall,  then  copper 
pyrites,  then  a  belt  of  brown  ore   containing  nodules  or  concretions  of  pyrites 
more  or  less  changed  the  middle  of  which  is  rich  in  gold,  and  then  the  principal 
mass  of  porous  quartz  against  hanging  wall,  which,  though  sometimes  showing 
films  of  gold,  is  usually  poor  ;  wall  rock,  sienitic  granite. ,, 

2.  Fis/ier  H'H,  in  Randolph  county;  veinstone  quartz,  with  white  sulpburet 
of  iron  mixed  irregularly  through  it ;  free  from  copper  pyrites  ;  burnt  to  advan- 
tage ;  two  to  four  feet  wide  near  surface  ;  brittle,  and  when  burnt  easily  pulver- 
ized; average  sixty  dollars  per  ton,  and  gold  worth  ninety  cents  to  pennyweight. 

3.  Conrad  Hill,  in  Davidson  county,  six  miles  east  of  Lexington  Court-House  ; 
situated  eighty-eight  feet  above  plain  to  the  south;  five  gold  bearing  veins  from 
eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  at  surface ;  third  vein  fifteen  inches  at  surface,  widen- 
ing to  eighteen  feet  at  depth  of  one  hundred  feet,  and  finally  developing  sui- 
plmrets  of  iron  and  copper  rich  in  gold ;  only  four  feet  rich  in  gold  ;  wall-rock 
talcose  slate,  but  adjacent  country  traversed  by  trap. 

4.  Gold  Hill,   on   southern   border  of    Rowan   county ;  product   to    1856, 
$2,000,000  ;  three  strong  and  well-defined  veins,  one  mile  east  of  granitic  belt ; 
angle  of  dip  80°  ;  strata  undisturbed  by  eruptive  rocks ;  veins  associated  with 
sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper  ;  Earhardt  vein  worked  400  feet,  expanding  from 
six  inches  to  seven  feet,  a  succession  of  lenticular  segments  overlapping  at  their 
edges  ;  chief  difficulties,  fineness  of  gold  and  heavy  giilphurets ;  if  sand  saved 
and  exposed  for  a  year  the  bulphurets  are  decomposed  and  metal  liberated; 
in  1854  $136,636  76   obtained  in  thirteen  months  from  Gold  Hill,  expense* 
$60,331  06,  profit  $76.305. 

5.  Parker  mine,  in  Stanly  county;  most  productive  parts  of  rock  are  natural 
joints  or  quartz  seams  ;  pieces  in  proximity  to  natural  joints  sometimes  weighing 
a  pound  :    "  not  a  vein,  but  a  decomposed  mass  with  gold  distributed  in  seams ;" 


. 
342  GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

has  produced  $200,000  ;  some  masses  at  rate  of  eighty  to  one  hundred  dollars 
per  ton. 

6.  Reed  mine,  in  Cabarrus  county ;  productive  alluvial  mining,  as  already 
stated  ;  a  vein  at  depth  of  ninety  feet  yields  twenty- two  dollars  per  ton.     A  . 
Phoenix  mine,  in  Cabarrus,  was  rich  to  140  feet,  twenty  to  sixty  dollars  per  ton  ; 
but  at  that  level  white  quartz  and  sulphate  of  barytes  replaced  the  brown  ore, 
reducing  yield  to  five  dollars  per  ton.     The  Pioneer  mine,  also  in  Cabarrus,  is 
&  fissure  in  granite  sixteen  to  seventeen  feet  wide,  but  true  veinstone  eight  to  ten 
inches ;  gold  in  pure  quartz  mixed  with  sulphurets ;  yield  sixty-three  dollars 
per  ton. 

7.  Howie  and  Lawson  mine,  in   Union  county,  near  the  line  of  South   Car- 
olina ;  fine,  white,  and  granular  quartz  which  near  contact  with  slate-wall  rock 
is  mottled  with  brown  oxide  of  iron  ;  on  this  surface  gold  visible  ;  width  of  vein 
six  to  thirty  inches  ;  average  sixty  dollars  per  ton  ;  some  specimens  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars;  traced  three-quarters  of  a  mile;  sold  in  1856  to  Com- 
modore Stockton. 

8.  Rudisili's  mine,  near  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  county ;  three  veins,  three 
or  four  feet  wide  ;  gan'gue  slaty,  with  stripes  of  quartz  and  copper  pyrites,  yield- 
ing twenty  dollars  per  ton;  quartz  brittle  and  readily  crushed;  "arrangement 
of  ore  in  the  lode  is  usually  in  rich  bunches,    connected  by  strings."     Dunn 
mine,  seven  miles   from   Charlotte,  remarkable  for  limonite  produced  from  iron 
pyrites,  but  unproductive  of   gold.     The  gold  in  the  vicinity  of  Charlotte  is 
worth  one  dollar  the  pennyweight. 

Copper  mining  has  also  received  attention  in  North  Carolina — the  most  per- 
sistent and  prosperous  enterprise  of  the  kind  being  in  Guilfbrd  county.  The 
"  Washington  silver  mine,"  in  Davidson  county,  produces  a  great  variety  of 
metals  in  association  with  silver,  which  are  difficult  to  treat  metallurgically ;  but 
the  attempt  will  doubtless  be  resumed  with  the  aid  of  improved  methods  of 
amalgamation. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  North  Carolina  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  West  of  that  range,  between  the  Snowy  mountain 
and  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  its  transverse  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  French 
Broad  river  to  the  Lookout  mountain,  containing  5,000  square  miles,  there  is  a 
field  presented  to  the  mineralogist  not  perhaps  equalled  for  extent  and  interest 
in  the  Unitec^  States.  '  Smoky  mountain  constitutes  the  line  between  primitive 
and  transition  rocks,  and  its  acclivities  are  steep  and  broken,  developing  familiar 
Muriferous  combinations.  Gold  has  been  taken  from  all  its  streams  ;  and  where 
the  spurs  and  belts  of  this  mountain  have  been  cut  by  denudation,  veins  of  quartz 
running  with  talcose  slate  are  very  apparent.  Gold  is  often  found  in  quartz 
rock,  out  of  place,  and  much  decomposed.  Coco  creek  is  a  very  rich  deposit. 
Rumors  of  &ilver  deposits  were  current  in  the  army,  during  the  late  military  cam- 
paigns. This  remote  interior  district  will  amply  reward  exploration. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

The  auriferous  belt  already  traced  from  Fredericksburg  to  Charlotte  ex- 
tends to  the  vicinity  of  Abbeville,  in  South  Carolina — more  restricted  in  width, 
but  with  indications  of  greater  richness. 

Mines  of  Mr.  William  Dome,  in  the  Abbeville  and  Edgefield  districts,  yielded 
gold  of  the  value  of  $300,000  in  fifteen  months  preceding  July,  1853.  The 
ore  was  highly  ferruginous  and  silicious,  and  the  gold  was  found  among  the 
layers  of  the  vein  in  streaks  and  pockets  of  extraordinary  richness.  It  WHS 
supposed  to  have  been  exhausted;  but  during  1866  work  was  resumed  with 
satisfactory  results. 

Professor  Lieber,  State  geologist  of  South  Carolina,  has  reported  that  the 
most  auriferous  rocks  are  clay  and  talcose  slates,  catawberite,  (a  compound  of 
tale  and  magnetic  iron,}  specular  iron,  schist  and  itaberite.  None  of  the  later 


GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.      343 

formed  rocks  contain  gold,  and  the  mioa  slates,  and  other  older  formations,  con- 
tain comparatively  little;  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  Murchison, 
already  referred  to,  who  refers  the  position  of  gold  universally  to  veins  in  altered 
silurian  slates,  chiefly  lower  Silurian,  and  most  frequently  near  their  junction 
with  eruptive  rocks. 

The  first  mint  deposits  from  South  Carolina  were  $3,500  in  1829 ;  the  aggre- 
gate of  such  deposits  to  June  30,  1866,  was  $1,353,663  98. 

.   GEORGIA. 

The  width  of  the  gold  range  through  the  southern  States  is  not  yet  defined. 
If  narrower  in  South  Carolina,  it  is  wider  in  Georgia  than  elsewhere.  A  line 
crosses  the  State  from  Augusta  on  the  Savannah,  by  Macon  on  the  Ocmulgee, 
to  Columbus  on  the  Chattahoochee,  north  of  which  is  a  platform  of  granitic  and 
palaeozoic  rocks,  which  stretches  to  the  Alleghanies,  within  which  gold  occurs 
in  almost  every  county.  Near  this  southern  limit  a  gold  mine  has  been  worked 
in  Columbia  county,  not  far  from  Augusta,  which  has  been  continuously  pro- 
ductive for  eighteen  years.  But  with  this  breadth  to  the  general  auriferous 
formation,  there  is  evidence  of  two  belts,  which  are  separated  by  unproductive 
metamorphic  rocks.  Probably  the  district  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  which  is 
most  distinctly  and  remarkably  gold-bearing,  is  from  latitude  34°  to  35n  and 
between  longitude  83°  and  86°. 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  Habersham  county  about  1831.  It  was  followed 
by  numerous  developments  along  a  line  of  hornblende  slate  from  Alabama, 
northeast  through  Cass,  Cherokee,  Hall,  and  Hart  counties,  and  extending  to 
the  Blue  Ridge.  Within  this  limit  are  the  productive  counties  of  Gilmer,  Lump- 
kin,  Habersham,  and  Kayburn. 

A  mint  was  established  at  Dahlonega,  in  Lumpkin  county,  in  1837,  which 
has  received  $600,000  in  a  single  year,  with  an  aggregate  coinage  to  February 
28,  1861,  of  $6,121,919.  Of  this  amount,  $5,825,747  was  received  during  the 
period  from  1838  to  1857. 

Placer  mining  has  been  prosecuted  in  northern  Georgia  in  a  manner  and  with 
a  success  not  unlike  the  experience  of  California.  Besides  the  true  veins,  which 
traverse  the  strata  in  which  they  lie  in  various  angles  of  dip  and  direction, 
there  are  many  depositories  of  gold  in  all  directions  around  Dahlonega,  which 
*  are  auriferous  beds  of  slates,  often  decomposed,  and  sometimes  containing 
pyrites,  and  the  gossan  resulting  from  its  decomposition.  In  Lumpkin  and 
Habersham  counties  especially,  these  metalliferous  beds  have  been  worked  like 
open  quarries,  and  the  gold,  in  some  instances,  has  been  collected  with  the  rocker 
or  the  pan,  without  recourse  to  crushing ;  worked,  in  fact,  like  deposit  mines. 
They  contain  rich  nests  and  fine  gold,  most  unequally  diffused  through  the.  dif- 
ferent layers  among  the  slates ;  some  are  perfectly  barren,  in  immediate  contact 
with  other  streaks  that  may  yield  many  dollars  to  the  hundred-weight  of  mate- 
rial ;  but  they  are  so  intimately  mixed  that  all  must  be  treated  alike  when 
worked  on  the  large  scale.  The  immense  quantities  in  which  these  materials 
are  obtained,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  are  quarried,  sometimes  render  it 
an  object  to  work  them,  though  their  yield  is,  on  the  whole,  very  small.  These 
conditions  are  very  favorable  to  the  application  of  hydraulic  mining,  as  carried 
to  perfection  in  California.* 

*  See  article  "  Gold,"  in  Appleton's  American  Cyclopaedia.  The  writer,  who  refers  to  his 
personal  experience  in  Georgia  mines,  adds  that  when  the  ores  are  not  pyritilerous,  and 
there  are  facilities  for  stamping  such  as  are  used  in  cement  mining  by  Californians,  these 
materials  can  be  profitably  worked,  when  only  producing  eighty  cents  or  one  dollar  per  ton, 
or  1.8  part  in  1,000,000;  but,  of  course,  where  the  material  is  hard  quartz,  and  more  espe- 
cially if  it  is  pyritiferous,  the  expense  of  working  would  be  more  than  quadruple.  Prof.  W. 
P.  Blake  in  1857  published  a  pamphlet,  advising  the  improved  methods  of  sluice-washing 
for  use  in  Georgia. 


344     GOLD  MINES  EiST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

Waiving  Further  details,  the  following  general  observations  may  accompany 
this  brief  review  of  the  Alleghany  gold  mines  : 

1.  There  is  yet  much  room  for  the  vigorous  and  intelligent  prosecution  of  al- 
luvial mining.   Especially  in  Georgia,  where  the  country  is  abrupt  and  nature  has 
subjected  the  auriferous  rocks  to  much  dislocation  and  atmospheric  exposure, 
not  only  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  but  the  adjacent  detritus  of  their  valleys,  will 
unquestionably  give  large  returns  to  the  new  and  powerful  methods  for  washing 
ponderous  masses  of  earth.     It  is  understood  that  companies  are  now  organized, 
who  propose  to  introduce  these  hydraulic  appliances  upon  the  Chestatee  and 
other  tributaries  of  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

2.  There  is  abundant  evidence  also  that  the  upper  portions  of  auriferous  lodes 
have  been  in  a  remarkable  degree  desulphurized,  and  may  be  worked  to  a  con- 
siderable depth  with  great  advantage  before  the  intrusion  of  what  is  called  "cap'' 
in  Colorado,  or  before  the  main  body  of  the  vein  becomes  obstinately  pyritifer- 
ous.     Surface  quartz  mining,  if  the  phrase  is  admissible,  will  warrant  consider- 
able investments,  whatever  subsequent  experience  shall  demonstrate  in  regard  to 
the  refractory  sulphurets.     It  may  be  admitted  that,  hitherto,  a  quartz  so  modi- 
fied in  chemical  constitution  as  to  be  ''honey-combed,"  having  become  cellular 
and  brittle  from  the  decomposition  of  pyrites,  with  the  gold  set  free  from  its 
matrix,  is  the  only  material  which  it  is  profitable  to  reduce ;  but  the  testimony 
is  ample  that  immense  quantities  of  ore  in  this  favorable  situation  are  accessible 
in  the  Alleghany  gold  district. 

3.  There  are  no  grounds  for  the  opinion  that  the  auriferous  lodes,  strongly 
marked  as  they  are  by  native  sulphurets,  will  not  prove  true  fissure  veins,  im- 
proving in  quantity  and  quality  with  their  depth.    Professor  Frederick  Overman, 
in  a  work  entitled  "Practical  Mineralogy,"  published'in  1851,  claims  that  the 
pyritous  veins  of  Virginia  and  other  south  Atlantic  States  will  be  more  sure  and 
lasting  than  the  gold-beariog  localities  of  California.     If  the  lower  beds  of  Col- 
orado mines  can  be  raised  and  reduced  with  profit,  deep  sinking  will  be  equally 
successful  in  the  Carolinas. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE  AND  OTHER  LOCALITIES. 

In  the  townships  of  Franconia  and  Lisbon,  lying  immediately  north  of  Mount 
Washington  on  the  lower  Ammonoosuc  river,  gold  has  recently  been  discovered  % 
in  quartz  rock  and  a  shaft  sunk  by  a  company  of  Boston  capitalists  to  the  depth 
of  seventy-five  feet.  A  correspondent  of  the  American  Exchange  and  Review, 
a  monthly  publication  of  Philadelphia,  describes  the  gold-bearing  quartz  as  tra- 
versing talcose  slate,  and  containing  sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper  and  seams  of 
magnetic  iron.  Some  extraordinary  statements  of  recent  assays  from  this  locality 
have  been  published — one  by  Dr.  Hays,  State  assayer  of  Massachusetts,  at 
$867  of  gold  per  ton,  and  another  specimen  of  mixed  quartz  talcose  slate,  gossan, 
pyrites,  &c.,  at  $312  42  per  ton.  In  the  adjacent  township  of  Waterford,  sur- 
face quartz  yielded  $30  per  ton;  quartz  taken  at  nineteen  feet  below  the  surface 
$45.  Gulch  mining  has  been  successfully  prosecuted  in  the  vicinity. 
•  If  the  New  Hampshire  discovery  should  warrant  investments,  there  may  be 
a  renewal  of  exploration  and  experiment  in  Vermont,  where  the  Appalachian, 
mountain  system  is  likewise  largely  developed. 

During  the  year  1863  lodes  of  argentiferous  galena  were  traced  in  the  vicinity 
of  Marquette,  on  Lake  Superior.  This  district  is  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  in 
breadth  and  about  fifty  miles  in  length,  and  is  situated  between  the  schistose  or  f 
iron  range  and  Lake  Superior.  Assays  reveal  from  ten  to  thirty  pounds  of  sil- 
ver to  the  ton  of  metal.  In  the  same  vicinity  east  of  Marquette  the  Huron 
mountains  were  reported  in  1864  to  be  gold-bearing;  but  the  rumors  have  led 
to  no  practical  results. 

A  geological  exploration  of  Arkansas  undertaken  a  few  years  since  indicated 


GOLD   MINES   EAST   OF   THE   ROC&Y   MOUNTAINS.  345 

the  probability  of  profitable  mining  for  silver,  and  perhaps  gold,  in  the  Ozark 
mountains  of  that  State. 

A  district  of  Alabama,  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  State,  is  a  well-de- 
fined extension  of  the  Appalachian  gold-field.  Its  production  of  gold  deposited 
in  the  United  States  mint  and  branches  has  amounted  to  $201,734  83,  with  an 
equal  amount  probably  diverted  to  commercial  channels. 

METALLURGICAL  TREATMENT  OF  GOLD  ORES. 

A  few  general  suggestions  on  the  treatment  of  gold  ores,  and  more  particu- 
larly the  auriferous  sulphurets  so  prevalent  in  the  formations  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  are  submitted. 

The  direct  method  of  attacking  these  ores  is  byj£re,  as  is  always  done  by  the 
assayer  in  his  laboratory,  when  he  wishes  to  extract  from  a  sample  of  ore  all 
the  metal  which  it  contains.  Undoubtedly,  when  the. cost  of  fuel,  fluxes,  and 
labor  is  reduced  to  something  near  the  standard  which  prevails  in  the  seaboard 
States,  the  richer  ores  of  Colorado,  Montana,  &c.,  will  be  reduced  by  smelting. 
At  present,  however,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  proper  economic  condi- 
tions for  smelting  do  not  exist,  except  possibly  in  the  case  of  argentiferous  ga- 
lena ;  although  experiments  recently  made  at  Swansea,  England,  upon  large 
quantities  of  pyritic  ores  sent  from  Colorado  have  proved  entirely  successful. 
In  conducting  these  experiments,  and  estimating  their  cost,  care  was  taken 
to  make  the  conditions  as  to  fuel,  fluxes,  labor,  &c.,  the  same  as  those  existing 
in  Colorado.  It  is  stated  that  smelting  works  upon  a  large  scale,  upon  the  Swan- 
sea plan,  are  to  be  started  immediately  in  Colorado.  If  this  should  be  done, 
there  will  ensue  a  subdivision  of  labor  in  the  business  of  mining  gold  and  silver, 
as  is  now  the  case  in  iron  mining.  The  miner  will  limit  his  efforts  to  the  raising 
of  ore  from  his  mine,  and  the  smelting  furnace  will  afford  a  market  where  the  ore 
will  command  its  price.  This  will  be  better  for  all  parties  than  the  method  hith- 
erto pursued  of  raising  and  reducing  ores  under  one  administration. 

But  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  the  great  mining  regions  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains will  have  a  sufficient  number  of  smelting  works  to  meet  the  wants  of  our 
enterprising  miners,  who  are  constantly  prospecting  new  fields  ;  and  there  will 
always  be  a  class  of  ores  too  poor  to  bear  the  cost  of  smelting. 
f  The  cheaper  process  of  amalgamation,  now  universally  employed  in  all  our 
mining  districts,  (and,  when  no  sulphurets  are  present,  the  very  best  process,) 
will  continue  to  be  very  generally  resorted  to.  This  process  consists  in  reducing 
the  ore  to  a  fine  powder  by  means  of  stamps,  arastras,  Chilian  mills,  or  other 
mechanical  contrivance,  and  subjecting  it  to  a  continuous  agitation  with  mercury, 
with  water  enough  to  give  a  pasty  consistency  to  the  mass,  the  object  being  to 
expose  as  fully  as  possible  the  fine  particles  of  gold  and  silver  to  the  attractive 
power  of  the  mercury,  with  which  they  form  an  amalgam  easily  separable  by 
subsidence  in  the  lighter  pulp  of  earthy  matter  of  which  the  ore  consists.  The 
amalgam  thus  obtained,  on  being  subjected  to  moderate  heat  in  an  iron  retort, 
gives  up  its  mercury,  which  passes  over  in  vapor,  and  is  condensed  again  in  an- 
other vessel,  the  metal  being  left  in  the  retort.  , 

In  the  case  of  pyritic  ores,  however,  it  is  found  that  the  process  of  amalga- 
mation is  seriously  retarded  by  the  impurities  with  which  the  gold  and  silver 
are  associated.  Probably  the  ores  of  Colorado  do  not  yield,  by  simple  amal- 
gamation, an  average  of  twenty  per  cent,  of  their  assay  value.  A  previous 
process  of  desulphurization  is,  therefore,  indispensible ;  and  how  best  to 
accomplish  this  is  the  problem  which  has  occupied  the  attention  of  metallur- 
gists for  many  years.  Many  methods  have  been  advised,  the  majority  of  which, 
being  merely  empirical,  have  had  but  an  ephemeral  reputation. 

As  already  intimated  further  details  are  reserved  for  a  subsequent  occasion, 
when  an  effort  will  be  made  to  describe  the  various  processes  now  in  course  of 
experiment. 


346  GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF    THE   EOCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

The  treatment  of  silver  ores  rests  upon  a  far  more  satisfactory  basis  of  chemi- 
cal experience,  and  the  different  methods  in  successful  use  are  clearly  and  accu- 
rately compiled  in  the  last  edition  of  Ure's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Manufactures, 
and  Mines. 

TREASURE   PRODUCT    OF    THE    WORLD. 

^ 

When  America  was  discovered  the  gold  and  silver  supply  of  Europe  did  not 
exceed  $200,000,000,  of  which  $60,000,000  was  gold  and  $140,000,000  was 
silver.  According  to  the  estimates  of  Humboldt  sixty  years,  elapsed  before  this 
aggregate  of  two  hundred  millions  was  doubled  by  the  treasure  product  of 
America. 

M.  Chevalier  estimates  that  the  total  amount  of  gold  and  silver  in  1848,  the 
t  epoch  of  the  California  discovery,  was  $8,500,000,000,  of  which  one-third  was 
geld.     It  will  require  thirty-two  years,  or  from  1848  to  1880,  to  duplicate  this 
supply,  even  if  $250,000,000  is  assumed  to  be  the  average  annual  production  of 
gold  and  silver  during  that  period. 

We  have  the  authority  of  Adam  Smith  that  it  was  not  until  after  1570  that 
the  increased  supply  from  the  American  mines  produced  any  appreciable  effect 
upon  prices.  In  1550,  or  twenty  years  previously,  the  treasure  stock  of  Europe 
has  been  doubled  ;  and  in  1570  it  reached  an  aggregate  of  $600,000,000.  To 
this  point  the  product  of  the  American  mines  was  absorbed  by  the  new  demands 
of  commerce.  It  was  only  until  1620,  or  fifty  years  later,  with  a  further  addi- 
tion of  $600,000,000  to  the  stock  of  money  in  circulation,  that  silver  fell  to 
about  one-third  of  its  former  value,  with  a  corresponding  appreciation  of  prices, 
In  these  statements  full  allowance  is  made,  for  the  consumption  of  the  precious 
metals  by  casualties,  abrasion,  and  the  arts. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  great  social  and  commercial  activities  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  development  of  human  industry  and  intelligence  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  will  prove  far  more  effective  for  the  absorption  of  the  vast  quan- 
tity of  gold  and  silver  now  or  hereafter  produced. 

The  world  in  the  sixteenth  century  received  and  assimilated  three-fold  the 
treasure  supply  of  1492  without  material  change  of  prices,  which  was  postponed 
fifty  years  later,  until  a  six-fold  supply,  or  an  aggregate  of  $1,200,000,000,  had 
been  applied  to  commercial  uses.  Then  was  observed  a  reduction  to  one-third 
of  the  former  value  of  silver.  If  we  compare  the  experience  of  the  world  since 
1848,  the  stock  of  specie  in  that  year  of  $8,500,000,000  will  be  doubled  in  1880, 
without  any  other  effect  than  to  vitalize  commerce ;  and  $400,000,000  per  an- 
num can  still  be  absorbed  by  the  trade  and  intercourse  of  all  the  continents  for 
twenty  years  thereafter,  or  until  A.  D.  1900,  before  the  monetary  situation  will 
correspond  with  that  of  Europe  in  1570,  when  the  first  effect  upon  the  exchange- 
able value  of  money  is  recorded. 

We  are  assisted,  by  the  experience  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  the  conclusion 
that  an  aggregate  of  $25,000,000,000  in  the  year  1900  will  hold  a  similar  rela- 
tion to  the  trade  and  intercourse  of  mankind  that  the  amount  of  $8,500,000,000 
sustained  to  the  population  and  commerce  of  the  world  in  1848.  If,  as  early  in 
the  next  century  as  1920,  the  stock  on  hand  sliould  be  increased  six-fold,  reach- 
ing a  total  of  $50,000,000,000,  it  might  be  attended,  as  in  1620,  by  a  sensible 
reduction  in  the  exchangeable  value  of  money  ;  but  this  contingency  is  too  re- 
mote and  capable  of  satisfactory  compensation  to  justify  much  solicitude  in  be- 
half of  posterity. 

There  are  indications  that  the  large  excess  in  the  production  of  gold  over  thafc 
of  silver,  which,  since  1848,  has  reversed  the  former  relations  of  these  metals, 
may  be  less  marked  in  future.  The  vast  quantities  of  gold  produced  since  1848 
are  mostly  from  placers— from  the  detritus  of  auriferous  rocks.  These  surface 


GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF   THE    SOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  M7 

mines  are  soon  exhausted.  In  California,  notwithstanding  the  skilful  applica- 
tion of  hydraulic  power,  the  production  of  gold  by  gulch  or  placer  mining  has 
diminished  from  $60,000,000  in  1853  to  $20,000,000  in  1866.  Except  for  new 
discoveries,  and  some  successful  enterprises  of  quartz  mining,  the  Australian 
supply  of  gold  would  have  likewise  diminished.  Very  few  diggings  hold  a  min- 
ing population  longer  than  a  single  season.  The  "  dust  of  gold  "  is  soon  gathered. 
It  may  be  admitted  that  Australia,  Siberia,  perhaps  the  sources  of  the  Zambesi 
arid  the  Nile  in  Africa,  and  northwest  British  America  will,  when  further  ex- 
plored, reveal  a  great  many  districts  \vhere  the  surface  deposits  are  rich  and  ac- 
cessible ;  but  each  will  be  in  turn  a  scene  of  great  excitement  and  of  rapid  ex- 
haustion, and,  perhaps,  before  the  close'of  the  present  century  alluvial  gold  mining 
will  be  almost  a  tradition.  This  tendency  is  so  apparent  in  erery  gold-producing 
community  that  public  attention  turns  constantly,  aad  with  solicitude,  to  the 
separation  of  gold  from  its  native  matrix  of  rock  as  the  only  permanent  means 
of  production.  But  at  that  stage  silver  mining  comes  into  successful  competition 
with  all  existing  methods  for  the  reduction  of  auriferous  rock.  It  has  always 
been  more  profitable  to  work  mines  of  silver  than  of  gold,  of  which  Mexico,  dur- 
ing two  centuries  of  experience,  and  the  Pacific  coast,  during  two  decades,  are 
illustrations. 

There  was-'  very  little  mention  of  silver  while  the  discovery  and  conquest  of 
America  were  in  progress.  Among  the  vast  mineral  treasures  of  Montezuma,  the 
quantity  of  silver  was  small  compared  with  gold.  It  was  "El  Dorado"  which 
was  eagerly  sought  for  by  European  explorers.  Each  country  was  ransacked, 
with  the  forced  labor  of  Indian  slaves,  for  gold.  This  was  the  era  of  placer- 
mining  in  the  American  dominions  of  Spain.  In  consequence  of  the  importatioa 
of  gold,  Isabella  of  Castile  was  obliged,  as  early  as  1497,  to  modify  greatly  the 
relations  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  mints.  The  Spanish  sovereigns  acknowledged 
the  grant  by  the  pontiff,  Alexander  VI,  of  their  discoveries  "in  India"  by  a 
donation  of  gold  from  Hayti.  At  length,  however,  after*  the  discovery  of  the 
silver  mines  in  Peru  and  Mexico,  and  when  the  experience  of  miners  had  elabo- 
rated a  systematic  industry,  gold  ceased  to  be  of  much  practical  importance  and 
silver  became  the  leading  metallic  product  of  Spanish  America.  Of  the  coinage 
of  Mexico  from  1535  to  1845,  $2,465,275,954  was  of  silver  and  $126,981,021 
of  gold.  Except  for  Brazil,  the  proportion  in  South  America  would  be  fully 
equal  to  that  recorded  in  Mexico. 

In  the  case  of  California,  after  many  unsuccessful  experiments,  the  reduction 
of  auriferous  lodes  has  been  established.  The  veinstones,  when  pulverized, 
readily  release  the  gold  ;  there  is  a  remarkable  absence  of  refractory  alloys ;  all 
the  conditions,  especially  in  Grass  valley,  are  favorable.  Yet  the  yield  of  gold 
does  not  exceed  $9,000,000  per  annum,  while  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  the  annual  production  of  silver,  chiefly  from  the  Comstock  lode,  amounts 
to  $16,000,000  per  annum. 

As  the  mining  territories  are  explored,  the  discoveries  of  argentiferous  veins 
are  reported  in  all  directions.  The  interior  of  the  vast  mountain  mass  developes 
in  Sonora,  Chihuahua,  Arizona,  Nevada,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Idaho, 
and  Montana,  the  identical  formations  and  conditions  which,  in  a  lower  latitude, 
characterize  Durango,  Zacatecas,  Guanajuato,  and  the  other  well  known  silver 
districts  of  Mexico.  With  the  exhaustion  of  the  placers  (perhaps  a  remote  con- 
tingency) it  is  quite  possible  that  the  production  of  silver,  as  compared  to  gold, 
will  be  restored  to  the  old  ratio  of  three  of  silver  to  one  of  gold. 

But  at  present,  as  well  as  for  the  last  eighteen  years,  the  ratio  of  production 
is  reversed — three  of  gold  to  one  of  silver.  The  following  statement  is  submitted 
as  an  approximation,  carefully  avoiding  exaggeration,  of  the  quantities  of  the 
precious  metals  produced  in  1866  : 


348      GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS 

Gold.  Silver.  Total. 

United  States $60,000,000  $20.000,000  $80.000,000 

Mexico  and  South  America 5,000,000  35,000,000  40:000,000 

Australia. 60,000,000  1,000,000  61,000,000 

British  America 5,000,000  500,000  5,500,000 

Siberia 15.000,000  1,500  000  16,500,000 

Elsewhere 5,000,000  2,000,000  7,000,000 


150,000,000       60,000,000     210,000,000 


The  annual  production  of  silver  since  1853  has  not  exceeded  $50,000,000,  or 
,000, COO.  Yet,  within  the  period  of  fourteen  years — from  1853  to  1866 — the 
Bum  of  c£ll,250,000  has  Been  annually  transported  from  European  ports  (in- 
cluding shipments  from  Egypt)  to  Asia.  The  aggregates  of  bullion  exports 
were  as  follows : 

Gold , c£24,773,647 

Silver 157,424,757 


Total 182,198,404 

France  alone,  although  the  richest  country  of  the  world  in  the  precious  metals, 
has,  since  1848,  parted  with  $165,947,253  of  silver  and  taken  gold  in  exchange. 
This  has  resulted  from  a  fall  in  the  value  of  gold,  as  compared  with  silver,  of 
2J  per  cent,  which,  by  comparison  of  the  course  of  exchanges  between  England, 
using -a  gold  standard,  and  Hamburg  and  Amsterdam,  using  a  silver  standard, 
is  the  only  monetary  result  of  the  excess  of  gold  supply  since  1848.  Europe 
and  America  will  substitute  gold  for  silver  as  money,  while  Asia  will  probably 
continue  to  absorb  silver  for  many  years  to  come,  before  the  ratio  of  currency  to 
population  now  existing  in  Europe  shall  extend  over  the  eastern  world. 

A  brief  statement  will  illustrate  the  extent  of  the  oriental  demand  for  the 
precious  metals,  which,  now  mostly  confined  to  silver,  will  hereafter,  or  as  soon 
as  the  world  shall  desire  it,  extend  to  gold.  India,  in  1857,  had  a  circulating 
^medium  of  $400,000,000  for  the  use  of  a  population  of  180,000,000,  or  $2  22  per 
capita.  France  has  a  population  of  38,000,000,  with  a  money  supply  of 
$y  10. 000,000,  or  $24  per  capita.  Suppose  China,  Japan,  and  the  other  indus- 
trious populations  of  Asia  to  be  in  the  situation  of  India,  and  that  the  current 
of  bullion  since  1853  has  supplied  the  Asiatics  with  $3  per  capita,  there  yet 
remains  a  difference  of  $21  per  capita  before  the  monetary  level  of  France  is 
attained,  demanding  a  further  supply  of  $21  per  capita  over  a  population  of 
600,000,000,  or  not  less  than  $12,600,000,000. 

The  railway  system  will  soon  connect  Europe  and  Asia,  and  constitutes  a 
most  important  ag^icy  for  the  transfer  of  capital  and  distribution  of  money 
among  the  populations  of  the  eastern  continent.  Since  the  suppression  of  the 
Indian  mutiny,  an  English  writer  estimates  that  more  than  one  hundred  millions 
sterling  have  been  added  to  the  currency  and  reproductive  capacity  of  India, 
mostly  from  England,  in  the  construction  of  railroads  and  canals.  There  were 
3,186  miles  of  railway  in  operation  in  1865,  having  cost  $86,000  per  mile,  and 
having  been  constructed  with  the  aid  of  a  guaranty  of  five  per  cent,  to  stock- 
holders by  the  province"  of  India.  The  system,  for  which  the  government  in- 
dorsement is  already  given,  will  be  4,917  miles  of  railway,  at  an  estimated  cost 
of  ^£77,500,000.  These  roads  will  relieve  the  government  of  liability  when 
their  earnings  reach  ^£25  per  mile  per  week,  a  point  whi"h  the  leading  lines  have 
nearly  reached  and  which  all  are  destined  to  attain.  Such  is  the  success  of  In- 
dian railways  that  thair  connection  with  Europe  by  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates, 
and  their  extension  into  China,  will  probably  be  accomplished  within  tfc??  next 
ten  years.  By  that  tiins  Kussia  will  have  undertaken  a  railway  from  Moscow 


V 

.GOLD   MINES   EAST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS  349 

to  Pekin,  through  southern  Siberia — a  great  trunk  line  that  would  soon  justify 
a  series  of  southern  lines,  penetrating  central  Asia  over  those  leading  caravau 
routes  which  have  been  the  avenues  of  Asiatic  commerce  for  centuries. 

If  an  investment  of  $430,000.000  in  5,000  miles  of  railway  is  financially 
successful  in  Hindostan  at  this  time,  it  may  be  anticipated  that  a  population  of 
180,000,000  will  warrant  the  enlargement  of  the  system  within  the  present  cen- 
tury fully  four -fold,  which  would  be  only  a  fifth  of  similar  communications 
required  and  supported  by  an  European  or  American  community  Suppose 
gueh  a  ratio  of  railway  construction  extended  over  China,  central  and  western 
Asia  and  Siberia,  it  would  be  only  one  mile  for  every  9,000  people ;  while  in 
the  United  States  there  are  36,000  milea  for  36.000,000  people,  or  a  mile  to 
every  'thousand ;  and  yet  the  Asiatic  ratio,  moderate  as  it  is,  presents  the  start- 
ling result  of  66.000  miles  of  railroad  constructed  by  the  expenditure  of 
$5,676,000,000.  Such  a  disbursement  of  European  accumulations  in  Asia 
would  go  far  to  diffuse  not  only  the  blessings  of  civilization,  but  any  excess  of 
production  from  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  world. 

In  Australia  a  railway  has  been  constructed  from  Melbourne  to  the  Ballarat 
gold  fields,  380  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $175,000  per  mile,  which  pays  a  net  profit 
nearly  equal  to  the  interest  on  the  immense  investment.  It  is  difficult  to  esti- 
mate the  amounts  destined  to  be  absorbed  for  railways  in  all  the  continents, 
under  the  direction  of  the  great  powers  of  the  world — projected,  constructed, 
and  administered  by  the  wealth  and  intelligence  of  America,  Russia,  England, 
Germany,  and  France.  But  the  railway  system  is  but  an  instance,  among  many 
other  causes,  conducing,  in  the  language  of  an  eminent  English  writer,*  "  to 
augment  the  real  wealth  and  resources  of  the  world ;  to  stimulate  and  foster 
trade,  enterprise,  and  production,  and,  therefore,  conducing,  with  greater  and 
greater  force,  to  neutralize  by  extension  of  the  surface  to  be  covered,  and  by 
multiplying  indefinitely  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the  dealings  to  be  car- 
ried on,  the  a  priori  tendency  of  an  increase  of  metallic  money  to  raise  prices 
by  mere  force  of  enlarged  volume.  Already  the  boundaries  within  which  capi- 
tal and  enterprise  can  be  applied,  with  the  assurance  and  knowledge  alone  com- 
patible with  durable  success,  have  been  extended  over  limits  which  ten  or  even 
five  years  ago  would  have  been  regarded  as  unattainable.  There  have  come 
into  play  influences  by  which  it  seems  to  be  the  special  purpose  to  contribute, 
by  the  aid  of  the  concurrent  advance  of  knowledge,  to  tho  removal  or  mitiga- 
tion of  many  chronic  evils  against  which  past  generations  have  striven  almost 
in  vain." 

TRANSPORTATION   FROM    THE    MISSOURI    RIVER    TO   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

While  postponing'a  detailed  consideration  of  the  character  and  extent 'of  trade 
and  transportation  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  mining'  territories  of  the  inte- 
rior since  1848,  some  idea  of  the  westward  movement  of  merchandise  and  the 
cost  of  its  transportation,  may  be  obtained  from  the  Quartermaster  General's 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1866,  which  ex- 
hibits the  transportation  on  account  of  .government,  and  the  rates  paid  per  hun- 
dred pounds  per  hundred  miles  The  rates  from  the  Missouri  river  to  northern 
Colorado,  Nebraska,  Dakota,  Idaho,  and  Utah  were  $1  45 ;  to  southern  Colo- 
rado, Kansas,  and  New  Mexico,  $1  38,  with  an  addition  from  Fort  Union  in 
New  Mexico  to  posts  in  that  Territory,  in  Arizona,  and  western  Texas  of  $1  79 
per  hundred  pounds  per  hundred  miles.  The  total  number  of  pounds  trans- 
ported was  81,489,321  or  40,774  6-10  tons,  at  a  cost  of  $3,314^495.  Parties 
familiar  with  the  course  of  this  inland  trade,  estimate  that  the  transportation  on 
account  of  government  is  one-ninth  the  total  amount  of  transportation.  At  thi^ 
rate  the  whole  amount  paid  in  1866  for  freights  from  the  Missouri  river  west- 
ward was  $30,830,055  According  to  a  statement  recently  made  by  the  ofiicers 

*  Tooke's  History  of  Prices,  rol.  vi,  p.  230,  published  iu  1857. 


350  GOLD    MINES   EAST    OF   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

of  the  California  division  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  $13,000,000  in  gold  was 
paid  in  1863  for  transportation  eastward  from  San  Francisco  to  the  State  of  Ne- 
vada and  Territories  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  details  of  return  freights 
and  the  amount  paid  for  the  movement  of  passengers  are,  as  yet,  too  incomplete 
for  publication.  Not  less  than  $50,000,000  per  annum  is  expended  on  or  near 
the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  for  the  transportation  of  travellers  and 
merchandise. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

I  beg  leave  to  close  this  communication  with  a  few  observations  of  a  general 
nature : 

1.  There  are  two  indispensable  requisites  to  the  development  of  the  western 
mines — security  from  Indian  hostilities,  and  the  establishment  of  railway  com- 
munication to  the  Pacific  coast  on  the  parallels  of  35°,  40°,  and  45°.    Of  these, 
the  completion  of  the  "  Union  Central "  on  the  average  latitude  of  the  fortieth 
parallel  may  be  anticipated  in   1870   and  will  unquestionably   give   a  great 
impulse  to  the  communities  which  it  will  traverse,  probably  in  such  a  degree  as 
to  warrant  the  immediate  construction  of  a  northern  line   central  to  Minnesota, 
Dakota,  Montana,  Idaho,  Washington,  and  Oregon,  and  a  southern  line  equally 
indispensable  to  the  Indian  Territory,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  south- 
ern California. 

2.  Great  results  of  a  social*  no  less  than  a  material  character  may  be  antici- 
pated from  the  act  of  July  26,  1866,  extending  facilities  for  acquiring  title  to 
mineral  lands.     By  that  act,  freedom  of  exploration,  free  occupation  of  govern- 
ment lands   for  placer  mining,  a  right  to  pre-empt  quartz  lodes  previously  held 
and  improved  according  to  local  customs  or  codes '  of  mining,  the  right  of  way 
for  aqueducts  or  canals,  not  less  essential  to  agriculture  than  to  mining,  and  the 
extension  of  the  homestead  and  other  beneficient  provisions  of  the  public  land 
system  in  favor  of  settlers  upon  agricultural  lands  in  mineral  districts,  have  been 
established  as  most  important  elements  for  the  attraction  of  population,  and  the 
encouragement  of  mining  enterprises.     The  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Qflice 
has  carefully  analyzed  this  enactment,  and  greatly  facilitated  its  execution  by 
a  circular  recently  issued.     The  spirit  of  the  legislation  under  consideration  is 
in  the  interest  of  actual   settlement  and  occupation,  and  adverse  to  absentee 
ownership  for  merely  speculative  purposes,  of  mining  properties.     It  will  pro- 
bably be  necessary  to  supplement  the  act  in  question  by  some  general  revision 
of  the  local  mining  customs,  which,  although  generally  founded  on  the  Spanish 
code  so  long  in  use  in  Mexico,  are  often  incongruous  and  obscure. 

3.  Great  loss  and  disappointment  have  resulted  from  the  unique  geological 
and  mineralogical  development  of  auriferous   and  argentiferous  lodes  of  the 
Rocky  mountains  and  the  Alleghanies.     Metallurgical  machinery  and  methods 
which  had  been  successful  in  Europe,  and  even  in  California,  have  proved  inap- 
plicable or  met  with  unexpected  obstacles  in  the  reduction  of  ores.     There  is 
no  subject  of  greater  importance  than  a  scientific  analysis  of  the  situation  arid 
combinations  of  the  precious  metals  and  the  best  methods  for  their  treatment. 
How  far  Congress  or  any  executive  department  can  judiciously  co-operate  in  the 
solution  of  the  mechanical  and  chemical  problem  which  now  confronts  the  skill 
and  experience  of  all  interested  in  the  economical  reduction  of  the  ores  of  gold 
and  silver,  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  report  to  determine ;  but  the 
great  utility  of  the  geological  survey  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
in  1847,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  D.  D   Owen,  may  properly  be  referred 
to  as  suggesting  the  expediency  of  a  similar  exploration  under  national  auspices 
of  the  mineral  districts  of  the  western  States  and  Territories,  and  which  might 
be  appropriately  extended  to  include  the  metalliferous  localities  of  the  Al!e- 
ghanies. 

JAMES  W.  TAYLOR. 
Hon.  HUGH  McCuLLOCH,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


CIECULAE 

IN  RELATION  TO 

.  M  I  1ST  I  N  G-     CLAIMS 

UNDER 

THE  ACT  OF  CONGRESS  APPEOVED  JULY  26,  1866.— U.  S.  STATUTES,  PAGE 

251,  CHAPTEE  CCLXIL 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

General  Land  Office,  January  14,  1867. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Herewith  will  be  found  the  act  of  Congress  approved  26th 
July,  1866,  "  granting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  over  the  pub- 
lic lands,  and  for  other  purposes." 

By  the  first  section  of  this  act  all  the  mineral  lands  of  the  United  States,  sur- 
veyed and  unsurveyed,  are  laid  open  to  "  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  those  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  such,  subject  to  statutory 
regulations,"  and  also  "  to  the  local  customs  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  several 
mining  districts  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States." 

It  therefore  becomes  your  duty,  in  limine,  to  acquaint  yourselves  with  the 
local  mining  customs  and  usages  in  the  district  in  which  you  may  be  called  upon 
to  do  those  official  acts  which  are  required  by  law,  whether  the  same  are  re- 
duced to  authentic  written  form,  or  are  to  be  ascertained  by  the  testimony  of 
intelligent  miners,  which  you  are  to  obtain  as  occasion  may  require  and  justify, 
in  acting  upon  individual  claims,  a  perfect  record  whereof  is  to  be  carefully 
taken  and  preserved  by  the  register  and  receiver,  and  to  be  accompanied  by  a 
diagram  or  plat  fixing  the  out- boundaries  of  the  district  in  which  such  customs 
and  usages  exist. 

The  .second  section  of  the  act  declares  that  "  whenever  any  person  or  asso- 
ciation of  persons  claim  a  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing 
gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper,  having  previously  occupied  and  improved  the 
same  according  to  the  local  custom  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  district  where  the 
same  is  situated,  and  having  expended  in  actual  labor  and  improvements  there- 
on an  amount  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  in  regard  to  whose  pos- 
session there  is  no  controversy  or  opposing  claim,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
for  said  claimant,  or  association  of  claimants,  to  file  in  the  local  land  office  a  di- 
agram of  the  same,  so  extended  laterally  or  otherwise  as  to  conform  to  the 
local  laws,  customs,  and  rules  of  miners,  and  to  enter  such  tract  and  receive  a 
patent  therefor,  granting  such  mine,  together  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein 
or  lode,  with  its  dips,  angles,  and  variations,  to  any  depth,  although  it  may  enter 
the  land  adjoining,  which  land  adjoining  shall  be  sold  subject  to  this  condition." 

Mining  claims  may  be  entered  at  any  district  land  office  in  the  United  State* 
under  this  law,  by  any  person,  or  association  of  persons,  corporate  or  incorpo- 
rate. In  making  the  entry,  however,  such  a  description  of  the  tract  must  be 
filed  as  will  indicate  the  vein  or  lode,  or  part  or  portion  thereof  claimed,  to- 
gether with  a  diagram  representing,  by  reference  to  some  natural  or  artificial 
monument,  the  position  and  location  of  the  claim  and  the  boundaries  thereof,  so 
far  as  such  boundaries  can  be  ascertained. 

First.  In  all  cases  th«  number  of  feet  in  length  claimed  on  the  vein  or  lode 


352  CIRCULAR   RELATING   TO   MINING    CLAIMS. 

shall  be  stated  in  the  application  filed  as  aforesaid,  and  the  lines  limiting  the 
length  of  the  claim  shall,  also,  in  all  cases  be  exhibited  on  the  diagram,  and  the 
course  or  direction  of  such  end  lines,  when  not  fixed  by  agreement  with  the  ad- 
joining claimants,  nor  by  the  local  customs  or  rules  of  the  miners  of  the  district, 
shall  be  drawn  at  right  angles  to  the  ascertained  or  apparent  general  course  of  the 
vein  or  lode. 

Second.  Where,  by  the  local  laws,  customs,  or  rules  of  miners  of  the  district, 
no  surface  ground  is  permitted  to  be  occupied  for  mining  purposes  except  the 
surface  of  the  vein  or  lode,  and  the  walls  of  such  vein  or  lode  are  unascertained, 
and  the  lateral  extent  of  such  vein  or  lode  unknown,  it  shall  be  sufficient,  after 
giving  the  description  and  diagram  aforesaid,  to  state  the  fact  that  the  extent  of 
such  vein  or  lode  cannot  be  ascertained  by  actual  measurement,  but  that  the 
said  vein  or  lode  is  bounded  on  each  side  by  the  wall  of  the  same,  and  to  esti- 
mate the  amount  of  ground  contained  between  the  given  end  lines  and  the  un- 
ascertained walls  of  the  vein  or  lode ;  and  in  such  case  the  patent  will  issue  for 
all  the  land  contained  between  such  end  lines  and  side  walls,  with  the  right  to 
foMow  such  vein  or  lode,  with  all  its  dips,  angles,  and  variations,  to  any  depth, 
although  it  may  enter  the  land  adjoining  :  Provided,  The  estimated  quantity 
shall  be  equal  to  a  horizontal  plane  bounded  by  the  given  end  lines,  and  the 
walls  on  the  sides  of  such  vein  or  lode. 

Third.  Where,  by  the  local  laws,  customs,  or  rules  of  miners  of  the  district, 
no  surface  ground  is  permitted  to  be  occupied  for  mining  purposes,  except  the 
surface  of  the  vein  or  lode,  and  the  walls  of  such  vein  or  lode  are  ascertained 
and  well  known,  such  wall  shall  be  named  in  the  description,  and  marked  on  the 
diagram,  in  connection  with  the  end  lines  of  such  claims. 

Fourth.  Where,  by  the  laws,  customs,  or  rules  of  miners  of  the  district,  a  given 
quantity  of  surface  ground  is  fixed  for  the  purpose  of  mining  or  milling  the  ore, 
the  aforesaid  diagram  and  description  in  the  entry  shall  correspond  with  and  in- 
clude so  much  of  the  surface  as  shall  be  allowed  by  such  laws,  customs,  or  rules 
for  the  purpose  aforesaid. 

Filth.  In  the  absence  of  uniform  rules  in  any  mining  district  limiting  the  amount 
of  surface  to  be  used  for  mining  purposes,  actual  and  peaceable  use  and  occupa- 
tion for  mining  and  milling  purposes  shall  be  regarded  as  evidence  of  a  custom 
of  miners  authorizing  the  same,  and  the  ground  so  occupied  and  used  in  connec- 
tion with  the  vein  or  lode,  and  being  adjacent  thereto,  may  be  included  within 
the  entry  aforesaid,  and  the  diagram  shall  embrace  the  same  as  appurtenant  to 
the  mine. 

Where  the  claimant  or  claimants  desire  to  include  within  their  entry  and  dia- 
gram any  surface  ground  beyond  the  surface  of  the  vein,  it  shall  be  necessary, 
upon  filing  the  application,  to  furnish  the  register  of  the  land  office  with  proof  of 
the  usage,  law,  or  custom  under  which  he  or  they  claim  such  surface  ground,  and 
such  evidence  may  consist  either  of  the  written  rules  of  the  miners  of  the  district, 
or  the  testimony  of  two  credible  witnesses  to  the  uniform  custom  or  the  actual 
use  and  occupation  as  aforesaid,  which  testimony  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  by 
the  register  and  receiver,  and  filed  in  the  register's  office,  with  the  application,  a 
record  thereof  to  be  made  as  contemplated  under  the  first  head  in  the  foregoing. 

By  the  third  section  of  the  act  it  is  required  that  upon  the  filing  of  the  diagram 
as  provided  in  the  second  section,  and  posting  the  same  in  a  conspicuous  place 
c!h  the  claim,  with  notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  a  patent,  the  register  shall 
publish  a  notice  of  the  same  in  a  newspaper  nearest  the  location  of  said  claim, 
which  notice  shall  state  name  of  the  claimant,  name  of  mine,  names  of  adjoining 
claimants  on  each  end  of  the  claim,  the  district  and  county  in  which  the  mine  is 
situated,  informing  the  public  that  application  has  been  made  for  a  patent  for 
same,  the  register  also  to  post  such  notice  in  his  office  for  ninety  days. 

Thereafter  should  no  adverse  claim  have  been  filed,  and  satisfactory  proof 
should  be  produced  that  the  diagram  and  notice  have  been  posted  in  the  manner 


CIRCULAR   RELATING   TO   MINING   CLAIMS,  353 

and  for  the  period  stipulated  in  the  statute,  it  will  become  the  duty  of  the  sur- 
veyor general,  upon  application  of  the  party,  to  survey  the  premises  and  make 
plat  thereof,  indorsed  with  his  approval,  designating  the  number  and  description 
of  the  location,  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements,  and  the  character  of 
the  vein  exposed.  As  preliminary  to  the  survey,  however,  the  surveyor  general 
must  estimate  the  expense  of  surveying,  platting,  and  ascertain  from  the  register 
the  cost  of  the  publication  of  notice,  the  amount  of  all  which  must  be  depos- 
ited by  the  applicant  for  survey  with  any  assistant  United  States  treasurer  or 
designated  depositary  in  favor  of  the  United  States  Teasurer,  to  be  passed  to 
the  credit  of  the  fund  created  by  individual  depositors  for  the  surveys  of  the 
public  lands.  Duplicate  certificates  of'such  deposits  must  be  filed  with  the  sur- 
veyor general  for  transmission  to  this  office,  as  in  the  case  of  deposits  for  sur- 
veys of  public  lands  under  the  10th  section  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved 
May  30,  1862,  and  joint  resolution  of  July  1,  1864. 

After  the  survey  thus  paid  for  shall  have  been  duly  executed  and  the  plat 
thereof  approved  by  the  surveyor  general  designating  the  number  and  the  de- 
scription of  the  location,  accompanied  by  his  official  certificate  of  the  value  of  the 
labor  and  improvements  and  character  of  the  vein  exposed,  with  the  tesimony 
of  two  or  more  reliable  persons  cognizant  of  the  facts  on  which  his  certificate  may 
be  founded  as  to  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements,  the  party  claiming  shall 
file  the  same  with  the  register  and  receiver,  and  thereupon  pay  to  the  said  re- 
ceiver five  dollars  per  acre  for  the  premises  embraced  in  the  survey,  and  shall 
file  with  those  officers  a  triplicate  certificate  of  deposit  showing  the  payment  of 
the  cost  of  survey,  plat,  and  notice,  with  satisfactory  evidence,  which  shall  be  the 
testimony  of  at  least  two  credible  witnesses,  that  the  diagram  and  notice  were 
posted  on  the  claim  for  a  period  of  ninety  days,  as  required  by  law  and  as  con- 
templated in  the  foregoing.  Thereupon  it  snail  be  the  duty  of  the  register  to 
transmit  to  the  General  Land  Office  said  plat,  survey,  and  description,  with  the 
proof  indorsed  as  satisfactory  by  the  register  and  receiver,  so  that  a  patent  may 
issue  if  the  proceedings  are  found  regular,  but  neither  the  plat,  survey,  descrip- 
tion, nor  patent  shall  issue  for  more  than  one  vein  or  lode. 

The  unity  of  the  surveying  system  is  to  be  maintained  by  extending  over  the 
mining  districts  the  rectangular  method,  at  least  so  far  as  township  lines  are 
concerned. 

The  contemplated  surveys  of  the  mineral  lands  will  be  made  by  district  dep- 
uties, under  contracts,  according  to  the  mode  adopted  in  the  survey  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  and  private  laud  claims,  embracing  in  them  all  such  veins  or  lodes  a» 
will  be  called  for  by  claimants  entitled  to  have  them  surveyed. 

In  consideration  of  the  very  limited  scope  of  surveying  involved  in  each  mi- 
ning claim,  the  per  mileage  allowed  by  law  may  not  be  adequate  to  secure  the- 
services  of  scientific  surveyors,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  a  per 
diem  principle,  it  being  the  most  equitable  under  the  circumstances. 

The  surveyor  general  is  therefore  hereby  authorized  to  commission  resident 
mineral  surveyors  for  different  districts,  where  isolated  from  each  other  and  abso- 
lutely inconvenient  for  one  surveyor  promptly  to  attend  to  the  several  calls  for 
surveying  in  such  localities  ;  the  compensation  not  to  exceed  ten  dollars  per  diem> 
including  all  expenses  incident  thereto.  Such  surveyors  shall  enter  into  bonds-- 
of  $10,000  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their  duties  in  the  survey  of  suchr 
claims  as  the  surveyor  general  may  be  required  to  execute  in  pursuance  of  the- 
aforesaid  law  and  these  instructions. 

The  fourth  section  contemplates  the  location  and  entry  of  a  mine  upon  un- 
surveyed  lands,  stipulating  for  the  surveys  of  public  lands  to  be  adjusted  to  the 
lines  of  the  claims,  according  to  the  location  and  possession  and  plat  thereof 
In  surveying  such  claims,  the  surveyor  general  is  authorized  to  vary  from  the 
rectangular  form  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  country,  local  rules,  laws>, 
and  customs  of  miners.  The  extent  of  the  locations  made  from  and  after  the 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  29 23 


354  CIRCULAR   RELATING   TO   MINING   CLAIMS. 

passage  of  the  act  shall,  however,  not  exceed  two  hundred  feet  in  length  along 
the  vein  for  each  locator,  with  an  additional  claim  for  discovery  to  the  discov- 
erer of  the  lode,  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  to  any  depth,  with  all  its 
dips,  variations,  and  angles,  together  with  a  reasonable  quantity  of  surface  for 
the  convenient  working  of  the  same  as  fixed  by  local  rules  :  Provided,  No 
person  may  make  more  than  one  location  on  the  same  lode,  and  no  more  than 
three  thousand  feet  shall  be  taken  in  any  one  claim  by  any  association  of  per- 
sons. 

The  deputy  surveyors  should  be  scientific  men,  capable  of  examining  and  re- 
porting fully  on  every  lode  they  will  survey,  and  to  bring  in  duplicate  specimens 
of  the  ore,  one  of  which  you  will  send  to  this  office,  and  the  other  the  surveyor 
general  will  keep,  to  be  ultimately  turned  over  with  the  surveying  archives  to 
the  State  authorities. 

The  surveyors  of  mineral  claims,  whether  on  surveyed  or  unsurveycd  lands, 
must  designate  those  claims  by  a  progressive  series  of  numbers,  beginning  with 
No  37,  so  as  to  avoid  interference  in  that  respect  with  the  regular  sectional 
series  of  numbers  in  each  township ;  and  shall  designate  the  four  corners  of 
each  claim,  where  the  side  lines  of  the  same  are  known,  so  that  such  corners 
can  be  given  by  either  trees,  if  any  are  found  standing  in  place,  or  any  corner 
rocks  exist  in  place,  or  posts  may  be  set  diagonally  and  deeply  imbedded,  with 
four  sides  facing  adjoining  claims,  sufficiently  flattened  to  admit  of  inscriptions 
thereon ;  but  where  the  corners  are  unknown,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  place  a  well- 
built  solid  mound  at  each  end  of  the  claim.  The  beginning  corner  of  the  claim 
nearest  to  any  corners  of  the  public  surveys  is  to  be  connected  by  course  and 
distance,  so  as  to  ascertain  the  relative  position  of  each  claim  in  reference  to 
township  and  range  when  the  same  have  been  surveyed ;  but  in  those  parts  of 
the  surveying  district  where  no  such  lines  have  as  yet  been  extended,  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  surveyors  general  to  have  the  same  surveyed  and  marked,  at 
least  so  far  as  standard  and  township  lines  are  concerned,  at  the  per  mileage  al- 
lowed, so  as  to  embrace  the  mineral  region,  and  to  connect  the  nearest  corners 
of  the  mineral  claims  with  the  corners  of  the  public  surveys. 

Should  it,  however,  be  found  impracticable  to  establish  independent  base  and 
meridian  lines,  or  to  extend  township  lines  over  the  region  containing  mineral 
claims  required  to  be  surveyed  under  the  law,  then,  and  in  that  case,  you  will 
cause  to  be  surveyed  in  the  first  instance  such  a  claim,  the  iriitial  point  of  which 
will  start  either  from  a  confluence  of  waters  or  such  natural  and  permanent  ob- 
jects as  will  unmistakably  identify  the  point  of  the  beginning  of  the  survey  of 
the  claim,  upon  which  other  surveys  will  depend. 

Section  5  provides  that  in  cases  where  the  laws  of  Congress  are  silent  upon 
the  subject  of  rules  for  working  mines,  respecting  easements,  drainage,  and  other 
necessary  means  to  the  complete  development  of  the  same,  the  local  legislature 
of  any  State  or  Territory  may  provide  them,  and  in  order  to  embody  such  en- 
actments into  patents,  you  are  directed  to  communicate  any  such  laws  to  this 
office. 

SEC.  6.  Should  adverse  claimants  to  any  mine  appear  before  the  approval  of 
the  survey,  all  further  proceedings  shall  be  stayed  until  a  final  settlement  and 
adjudication  are  had  in  the  courts  of  the  rights  of  possession  to  such  claim,  ex- 
cept where  the  parties  agree  to  settlement,  or  a  portion  of  the  premises  is  not  in 
dispute,  when  a  patent  rnajr  issue  as  in  other  cases. 

Section  7  provides  for  such  additional  land  districts  as  may  be  necessary. 

Section  8  for  the  right  of  way. 

Section  9  for  the  protection  of  rights  to  the  use  of  water  for  mining,  agricul- 
tural, manufacturing,  or  other  purposes,  for  the  right  of  way  for  the  construction 
of  ditches  and  canals ;  and  makes  parties  constructing  such  work  (after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act)  to  the  injury  of  settlers  liable  in  damages. 

SEC.  10.  Homesteads  made  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act  by  citizens  of  the 


CIRCULAR  RELATING   TO   MINING   CLAIMS.  355 

United  States,  or  persons  who  have  declared  their  intentions  to  become  citizens, 
but  on  which  lands  no  valuable  mines  of  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper  have 
been  discovered,  are  protected,  so  that  settlers  or  owners  of  such  homesteads 
shall  have  a  right  of  pre-emption  thereto,  in  quantity  not  to  exceed  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  at  $1  25  per  acre,  or  to  avail  themselves  of  the  homestead  act 
and  acts  amendatory  thereof 

Section  11  stipulates  that,  upon  the  survey  of  the  lands  in  question,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  may  set  apart  such  portions  as  are  clearly  agricultural,  and 
thereafter  subjects  such  agricultural  tracts  to  pre-emption  and  sale  as  other  pub- 
lic lands. 

In  order  to  enable  the  department  properly  to  give  effect  to  this  section  of 
the  law,  you  will  cause  your  deputy  surveyors  to  describe  in  their  field-notes  of 
surveys,  in  addition  to  the  data  required  to  be  noted  in  the  printed  manual  of 
surveying  instructions,  on  pages  17  and  18,  the  agricultural  lands,  and  represent 
the  same  on  township  plats  by  the  designation  of  "  agricultural  lauds." 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  there  is  nothing  obligatory  on  claimants  to  pro- 
ceed under  this  statute,  and  that  where  they  fail  to  do  so,  there  being  no  ad- 
verse interest,  they  hold  the  same  relations  to  the  premises  they  may  be  work- 
ing which  they  did  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  with  Ihe  additional  guarantee 
that  they  possess  the  right  of  occupancy  under  the  statute. 

The  foregoing  presents  such  views  as  have  occurred  to  this  office  in  consider- 
ing the  prominent  points  of  the  statute,  and  will  be  followed  by  further  instruc- 
tions as  the  rulings  in  actual  cases  and  experience  in  the  administration  of  the 
statute  may  from  time  to  time  suggest. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOS.  S.  WILSON, 

Commissioner. 

The  UNITED  STATES  REGISTERS  AND 

RECEIVERS  AND  SURVEYORS  GENERAL. 


CHAP.  CCLXIL 

AN  ACT  granting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  over  the  public  lands,  and  for 

other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  mineral  lands  of  the  public 
domain,  both  surveyed  and  unsurveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  opea 
to  exploration  and  occupation  by  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  those 
who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens,  subject  to  such  regulations 
as  may  be  prescribed  by  law,  and  subject  also  to  the  local  customs  or  rules  of 
miners  in  the  several  mining  districts,  so  far  as  the  same  may  not  be  in  conflict 
with  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  person  or  association 
of  persons  claim  a  vein  or  lode  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing  gold, 
silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper,  having  previously  occupied  and  improved  the  same 
according  to  the  local  custom  or  rules  of  miners  in.  the  district  where  the»-same 
is  situated,  and  having  expended  in  actual  labor  and  improvements  thereon  an 
amount  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  in  regard  to  whose  possession 
there  is  no  controversy  or  opposing  claim,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  said 
claimant  or  association  of  claimants  to  file  in  the  local  land  office  a  diagram  of 
the  same,  so  extended  laterally  or  otherwise  as  to  conform  to  the  local  laws, 
customs,  and  rules  of  miners,  and  to  enter  such  tract  and  receive  a  patent  there- 
for, granting  such  mine,  together  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  or  lode  with 


356  CIRCULAR   RELATING   TO   MINING   CLAIMS. 

its  dips,  angles,  and  variations  to  any  .depth,  although  it  may  enter  the  land  ad- 
joining, which  land  adjoining  shall  be  sold  subject  to  this  condition. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  upon  the  filing  of  the  diagram  as' 
provided  in  the  second  section  of  this  act,  and  posting  the  same  in  a  conspicuous 
place  on  the  claim,  together  with  a  notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  a  patent,  the 
register  of  the  land  office  shall  publish  a  notice  of  the  same  in  a  newspaper 
published  nearest  to  the  location  of  said  claim,  and  shall  also  post  such  notice  in 
his  office  for  the  period  of  ninety  days ;  and  after  the  expiration  of  said  period, 
if  no  adverse  claim  shall  have  been  filed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  surveyor 
general,  upon  application  of  the  party,  to  survey  the  premises  and  make  a  plat 
thereof,  indorsed  with  his  approval,  designating  the  number  and  description  of 
the  location,  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements,  and  the  character  of  the 
vein  exposed ;  and  upon  the  payment  to  the  proper  officer  of  five  dollars  per  acre, 
together  with  the  cost  of  such  survey,  plat,  and  notice,  and  giving  satisfactory 
evidence  that  said  diagram  and  notice  have  been  posted  on  the  claim  during 
said  period  of  ninety  days,  the  register  of  the  land  office  shall  transmit  to  the 
General  Land  Office  said  plat,  survey,  and  description,  and  a  patent  shall  issue 
for  the  same  thereupon.  But  said  plat,  survey,  or  description  shall  in  no  case 
cover  more  than  one  vein  or  lode,  and  no  patent  shall  issue  for  more  than  one 
vein  or  lode,  which  shall  be  expressed  in  the  patent  issued. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  such  location  and  entry  of  a 
mine  shall  be  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful,  after  the  ex- 
tension thereto  of  the  public  surveys,  to  adjust  the  surveys  to  the  limits  of  the 
premises  according  to  the  location  and  possession  and  plat  aforesaid ;  and  the 
surveyor  general  may,  in  extending  the  surveys,  vary  the  same  from  a  rectan- 
gular form  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  country  and  the  local  rules,  laws, 
and  customs  of  miners :  Provided,  That  no  location  hereafter  made  shall  exceed 
two  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  vein  for  each  locator,  with  an  additional 
claim  for  discovery  to  the  discoverer  of  the  lode,  with  the  right  to  follow  such 
vein  to  any  depth,  with  all  its  dips,  variations,  and  angles,  together  with  a  reason- 
able quantity  of  surface  for  the  convenient  working  of  the  same,  as  fixed  by  local 
rules  :  And  provided  further,  That  no  person  may  make  more  than  one  location 
on  the  same  lode,  and  not  more  than  three  thousand  feet  shall  be  taken  in  any 
one  claim  by  any  association  of  persons.. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  as  a  further  condition  of  sale,  in  the 
absence  of  necessary  legislation  by  Congress,  the  local  legislature  of  any  State 
or  Territory  may  provide  rules  for  working  mines  involving  easements,  drain- 
age, and  other  necessary  means  to  their  complete  development ;  and  those  con- 
ditions shall  be  fully  expressed  in  the  patent. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  any  adverse  claimants  to 
any  mine  located  and  claimed  as  aforesaid  shall  appear  before  the  approval  of 
the  survey,  as  provided  in  the  third  section  of  this  act,  all  proceedings  shall  be 
stayed  until  a  final  settlement  and  adjudication  in  the  courts  of  competent  juris- 
diction of  the  rights  of  possession  to  such  claim,  when  a  patent  may  issue  as  in 
other  cases. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  to  establish  additional  land  districts,  and  to  appoint 
the  necessary  officers  under  existing  laws,  wherever  he  may  deem  the  same 
necessary  for  the  public  convenience  in  executing  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  right  of  way  for  the  construction  . 
of  highways  over  public  lands,  not  reserved  for  public  uses,  is  hereby  granted. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  by  priority  of  possession, 
rights  to  the  use  of  water  for  mining,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  or  other  pur- 
poses, have  vested  and  accrued,  and  the  same  are  recognized  and  acknowledged 
by  the  local  customs,  laws,  and  the  decisions  of  courts,  the  possessors  and  owners 
of  such  vested  rights  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  same  ;  and  the 


CIRCULAR   RELATING   TO   MINING   CLAIMS.  357 

right  of  way  for  the  construction  of  ditches  and  canals  for  the  purposes  aforesaid 
is  hereby  acknowledged  and  confirmed  :  Provided,  however,  That  whenever, 
after  the  passage  of  this  act,  any  person  or  persons  shall,  in  the  construction  of 
any  ditch  or  canal,  injure  or  damage  the  possession,  of  any  settler  on  the  public 
domain,  the  party  committing  such  injury  or  damage  shall  be  liable  to  the  party 
injured  for  such  injury  or  damage. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  wherever,  prior  to  the  passage  of 
this  act,  upon  the  lands  heretofore  designated  as  mineral  lands,  which  have  been 
excluded  from  survey  and  sale,  there  have  been  homesteads  made  by  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  or  persons  who ,  have  declared  their  intention  to  become 
citizens,  which  homesteads  have  been  made,  improved,  and  used  for  agricultural 
purposes,  and  upon  which  there  have  been  no  valuable  mines  of  gold,  silver, 
cinnabar,  or  copper  discovered,  and  which  are  properly  agricultural  lands,  the 
said  settlers  or  owners  of  such  homesteads  shall  have  a  right  of  pre-emption 
thereto,  arid  shall  be  entitled  to  purchase  the  same  at  the  price  of  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  acre  and  in  quantity  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres ;  or  said  parties  may  avail  themselves  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
Congress  approved  May  twenty,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  entitled  "  An 
act  to  secure  homesteads  to  actual  settlers  on  the  public  domain,"  and  acts 
amendatory  thereof. 

SEC.  11  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  upon  the  survey  of  the  lands  afore- 
said, the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  designate  and  set  apart  such  portions  of 
the  said  lands  as  are  clearly  agricultural  lands,  which  lands  shall  thereafter  be 
subject  to  pre-emption  and  sale  as  other  public  lands  of  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  all  the  laws  and  regulations  applicable  to  the  same. 

Approved  July  26,  1866. 


INDEX. 


LETTER  FROM  SECRETARY  OF  TREASURY 3 

REPORT  OF  J.  Ross  BROWN 

Section  1 . — Historical  sketch  of  gold  and  silver  mining  on  the  Pacific  slope 33 

1.  First  mention  of  gold - 13 

2.  Gold  found  before  1848 13 

3.  Marshall's  discovery 14 

4.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  print 15 

5.  Excitement  abroad 15 

6.  Pan  washing .... 16 

7.  The  rocker 16 

8.  Mining  ditches 16 

9.  Miners'  "rashes" 17 

10.  GoldLake  and  Gold  Bluff 18 

11.  The  "torn" 18 

12.  The  sluice 1 19 

13.  Placer  leads  traced  to  quartz 19 

14.  A  gold-dredging  machine 20 

15.  Decrease  of  wages - 20 

16.  Growth  of  the  quartz  interest 21 

17.  Failure  in  quartz 21 

18.  Improvement  in  quartz  mining •. 22 

19.  The  hydraulic  process 22 

20.  Hill  mining - 23 

21.  Decline  of  river  mining - 23 

22.  "  Rushes  "  to  Australia 24 

23.  The  Kern  river  excitement 24 

24.  Ancient  rivers 24 

25.  The  Tuolumne  table  mountain 25 

26.  The  Fraser  fever 26 

27.  Discovery  of  the  Comstock  lode 27 

28.  The  Washoe  excitement 28 

29.  The  barrel  and  yard  processes 

30.  The  pan  process 29 

31.  Growth  of  the  Washoe  excitement 30 

32.  Virginia  City 30 

33.  The  silver  panic 

34.  Litigation  about  the  Comstock  mines -•«  32 

35.  The  many-lode  theory 32 

36.  Expenses  increasing  with  the  depth 32 

37.  Some  characteristics  of  Esmeraida,  Humboidt,  and  Reese  rivers 

38.  Sutro  tunnel  project 

39.  Baron  Richthofen's  report , 34 

40.  Columbia  basin  and  Cariboo  mines 36 

Section  2. — Geological  formation,  &c,,  of  Pacific  slope,  (Report  of  Mr.  William  Ash- 
burner) 

1.  Gold  mining  interest  of  California 37 

2.  Characteristics  of  the  gold  belt 40 

3.  Northern  mining  districts '• 43 

4.  Mining  in  the  sierras  ;  mills,  expenses,  &c 47 

Section  3. — Condition  of  gold  and  silver  mining  on  the  Pacific  coast 49 

1.  Decrease  of  yield 49 

2.  The  exportation  of  treasure  from  California 50 

3.  Receipts  from  northern  and  southern  mines 51 

4.  Comparison  of  receipts  and  exports , 52 

5.  Quartz  yield  increasing 5^ 

6.  Uncertainty  in  quartz  mining 53 

7.  Professor  Ashburner's  statistics : 54 

8.  Re"rnond's  statistics .-  55 

9.  Pulverization  of  quartz 

1$.  Amalgamation  of  gold 

11.  Sulpliurets  and  concentration 

12.  Citloriiiation •- 64 


INDEX.  559 

Page. 

13.  Gold  in  loose  state 64 

14.  Placers 64 

15.  Cement  mining 65 

16    Hydraulic  mining 65 

17.  River  mining - 66 

18.  The  Hay  ward  .quartz  mine €6 

19.  Sierra  Buttes  mine €6 

20.  The  Allison  mine,  &c €7 

21.  The  Smartsville  Blue  Gravel  Company's  mine 68 

22.  Profits  of  mining  generally 69 

23.  Difficulty  of  getting  good  claims 71 

24.  Comstock  lode  the  mo^t  productive  in  the  world 71 

25    Comstock  mining  companies '. 72 

26.  Quartz  mills  in  Nevada 74 

27.  The  pan ^ 76 

28.  The  Wheeler  pan 76 

29.  The  Varney  pan 77 

30.  Knox'span 77 

31.  Hepburn  pan 77 

32.  The  Wheeler  and  Eandail  pan 77 

33.  Estimated  yield  of  various  mines 77 

34.  Assessments  levied 78 

35.  The  Gould  arid  Currymine 78 

36.  TheOphirmine , 60 

37.  The  Savage  mine 61 

38.  The  Yellow  Jacket  mine 62 

39.  The  Crown  Point  mine 62 

40.  The  Hale  and  Norcross  mine 82 

41.  The  Imperial  mine 83 

42.  The  Empire  mine 83 

43.  Productive  mines  of  Reese  river 84 

44.  Yield  of  various  silver  districts . 84 

45.  Improvements  in  silver  mining 84 

Section  4. — Resources  of  Nevada,  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  Utah,  Montana, 

and  Idaho 85 

1.  Historical  sketch  of  Nevada 85 

2.  Geography  and  products  of  Nevada 63 

3.  Mines  and  mineral  resources  of  Nevada 98 

4.  Mining  property,  &c 120 

5.  General  view  of  the  mines  of  Nevada,  Washington  Territory,  Utah,  Montana, 

and  Idaho 123 

Report  of  Dr.  A,  Blatchly 132 

Southeastern  Nevada Io2 

Arizona,  (extract  from  Governor  McCormick's  message,  October  8,  1866) 135 

Section  5 138 

1.  The  copper  resources  of  the  Pacific  coast 138 

2.  Various  copper  districts 149 

3.  The  geological  formations  in  which  copper  is  found    157 

4.  Reduction  of  ores 160 

Section  6. — Quicksilver  mines  of  California 170 

1 .  New  Almaden  mines 170 

2.  Products  and  exports 174 

Section  7. — Borax,  sulphur,  tin,  and  coal 178 

1 .  Principal  places  where  borax  is  found 178 

2.  Manufacture  of  borax 178 

3.  Discovery  of  borax  in  California 179 

4.  Product  of  borax  in  California 185 

5.  Process  of  working 186 

6  Deposits  of  sulphur 387 

7  Tin 187 

8.  Coal 388 

9.  Iron 192 

Section8 — Mining  region,  population,  altitude,  &,c 193 

1.  The  mining  region  and  the  mining  population 193 

2.  Main  divisions 394 

3    Altitudes 194 

4.  Climate 395 

5.  Capacity  to  maintain  a  large  population 198 

6.  Number  of  miners...  199 


360  INDEX. 

Page. 

7.  Timber 190 

Section  9. — Annotated  catalogue  of  the  principal  mineral  species  hitherto  recognized 

in  California,  &c 200 

Notes  on  the  geographical  distribution  and  geology,  &c 212 

Section  10. — Laws  and  customs  of  foreign  government's  in  relation  to  the  occupancy 

of  mineral  lands  and  the  working  of  mines , 218 

1 .  The  crown  right ,  216 

2.  Permanent  titles  to  mineral  lands  in  the  United  States 223 

Section  11 226 

1.  Mining  laws 226 

2.  Need  of  congressional  mining  law 229 

3.  The  customary  limitation  of  size 230 

4.  Proposed  width  of  claims 231 

5.  Work  required  to  hold  claims 232 

6.  Proposed  change  as  to  work  required 234 

7.  Law  needed  for  centuries  of  mining . 234 

8.  Congress  alone  can  establish  uniformity 235 

9.  Miners'  regulations — Quartz  regulations  of  Nevada  county,  California 235 

1 0.  Quartz  regulations  of  Sierra  county,  California 236 

11.  Quartz  regulations  of  Tuolumne  county,  California 237 

1  ]  ^.  Quartz  regulations  of  Sacramento  county 237 

12.  Placer  regul  ations  of  Columbia  district,  California 238 

13.  Placer  regulations  of  North  San  Juan  district 240 

14.  Placer  regulations  of  Pilot  Hill 1 241 

15.  Regulations  of  New  Kanaka  camp 241 

16    Regulations  of  the  Copperopolis  (copper)  district .* 242 

17.  Statute  of  Nevada  concerning  mining  claims 242 

18.  Regulations  of  the  Virginia  district,  Nevada 245 

19.  Regulations  of  Reese  river  district,  Nevada 246 

20.  Quartz  statute  of  the  State  of  Oregon 247 

21.  Quartz  statute,  of  Idaho - 248 

22.  Statute  of  Arizona 1 249 

23.  The  mining  laws  of  Mexico 257 

•     Section  12 264 

1    Books  on  Californian  mines 264 

2.  Table  of  distances 266 

Appendix  1.  Address  on  the  history  of  California * '. 268 

Appendix  2.  Address  on  the  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States 306 

GOLD  MINES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

LETTER  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  TREASURY 323 

REPORT  OF  JAMES  W.  TAYLOR 324 

The  Rocky  mountains - 324 

New  Mexico 324 

Colorado 326 

Montana 328 

Utah 330 

Dakota >. 330 

Saskatchewan 330 

Vermillion  district 331 

Canadian  mines - 332 

Nova  Scotia 333 

Alleghany  gold-field 337 

Virginia 338 

North  Carolina 340 

South  Carolina > 342 

Georgia 343 

New  Hampshire  and  other  localities - 344 

Metallurgical  treatment  of  gold  ores 345 

Treasure  product  of  the  world 346 

Transportation  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  Rocky  mountains 349 

General  observations 350 

MINING  CLAIMS. 

Circular  of  Jos.  S.  Wilson,  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office 351 

Act  of  Congress  approved  July  26,  1866.^ 355 


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